I've Fallen Apart For You
by just.unique91
Summary: Eclaire. "You don't hate me as much as you think you do Pom Pom." I whispered into the younger girl's ear. She laughed bitterly and shoved me away from her. "Elle, I absolutely despise you." I sighed. "Even after all I've given up for you?" Elle/Claire
1. Chapter 1

Title: I've Fallen Apart For You  
Pairing: Elle/Claire  
Rating: T but might have a small chance of being M  
Disclaimer: No ownage. All characters and whatnot belong to NBC and Tim Kring. BUT if I did own Heroes, Elle sure as hell wouldn't be dead! And the Sylar/Elle thing would NOT have happened. There probably would have been some hooking up between Elle and Claire on the plane ride to Pinehearst.

A/N: I'm really not sure where this is going and it probably won't be long. But I'm stuck on this pair and I thought I'd give it a try. This is told in Elle's POV. Um in the new volume we will just pretend that Claire is 17-ish and in high school. Elle is 24 and apparently not dead. Claire doesn't know about Nathan rounding up people with abilities and she certainly doesn't know Noah is apart of it. I guess you could say this picks up after Claire left New York and went back to Costa Verde for a "normal life."

* * *

I can't exactly say I was living with the Bennet family, but to say I was "welcome" in their household might be more accurate. I often did stay at the Bennet's though, mostly to keep an eye on the cheerleader.

Babysitting (without pay) is what I liked to call it.

But according to Noah Bennet, there was more to the whole babysitting thing. I had to make sure Pom Pom didn't put her nose where it didn't belong, all while trying not to be obvious about what was really going on.

And what exactly was going on?

Well besides people with abilities being rounded up, taken to a facility, and basically falling off the face of the earth to all that knew them, not much at all.

But I knew that even though Claire was a cheerleader she wasn't completely dumb. She knew that her dad, well both of them, were hiding something. And I know that she knew that I knew she knew something was up.

I liked to consider myself one of the more fortunate ones. If Noah hadn't have offered for me to work with him, I would be in one of those orange suits being shipped off without hope of returning to civilization. So parting ways with Gabriel or Sylar seemed to work out for the best. I'm pretty sure the combination of getting his powers back after the eclipse and then finding out that the Petrelli's really weren't his family caused him to snap for the final time.

I really regret sleeping with him.

* * *

"Elle?"

Noah's damn voice.

I groaned and buried my face into the pillow hoping he would disappear.

"Elle!"

"What Bennet?!" I practically screamed sitting up to glare at the figure standing in the doorway.

"What's with the attitude?" He asked flicking on the light switch.

I clenched my eyes shut and let out a stream of profanities. Noah was annoying and even though he wasn't Cheerleader's biodad, it was apparent she picked up the trait from him. I reopened my eyes and although it was painful, my eyes adjusted to the brightness.

"Well Noah it's," I glanced at the clock on the nightstand before continuing, "5:46 in the morning and I was trying to sleep." Somehow I managed to say this in a fairly calm tone.

"Trying to sleep in the guest room that my wife and I so graciously agreed to let you use. But if you really want something to complain about then I'm sure we can fly you first class to a new well-suited place for you and your kind." He replied rather smoothly.

I rolled my eyes and mumbled an apology before putting on a falsely cheery smile.

"So what _did_ you wake me up for?" I asked wanting nothing more than to lie back down and sleep.

"To tell you that I need you to be at Claire's game tonight."

A high school football game?!

"To...?"

"Make sure there aren't any disturbances."

"I thought you and me had an assignment thing today?" I asked feeling my anger rise again.

I didn't want to be cooped up in their house all day and then be forced to attend a football game.

"I can handle the assignment today. But I really need you here with my family."

I didn't understand. Bennet works for these people but he's still paranoid that they might take away his _precious_ Claire-Bear? Wow.

"Great." I deadpanned as my head hit the pillow.

I heard him mumble something about a "next time" and I scoffed.

"I want a raise!" I shouted and turned over so my back faced him. "And turn off that light."

I heard him make some sort of chortling sound.

"Please?" I asked turning to face him and flashing my sweetest smile, which of course Noah Bennet didn't fall for.

"Get up and turn it off yourself." Was his reply and he disappeared from the doorway.

"Ass." I said and with much effort managed to get out of bed to turn off the light and shut my door.

* * *

Whenever I did stay at the Bennet's I never was up early enough for breakfast. And either they didn't want to disturb my sleep or my company wasn't really wanted first thing in the morning...

But after Noah had woken me up, I had trouble getting back to sleep. So I spent about an hour and a half tossing and turning still trying to force myself to sleep. With no such luck, I sluggishly pulled myself out of the bed and padded across the soft carpeted floor to the door. Once I opened the door I was instantly greeted with one of the most delicious smells. I followed the smell all the way down the stairs where the smell grew stronger and found myself in the kitchen.

"Oh!" Sandra Bennet exclaimed nearly dropping the plate of delicious-looking waffles everywhere. "Good morning, Elle. We weren't expecting you for breakfast."

"Sorry." I replied rather sheepishly. "I was thinking maybe I could give this family breakfast thing a try." I said with a small shrug of my shoulders.

"We're not your family." Pom Pom said shooting me a nasty look.

I feigned a hurt expression and turned to exit the kitchen but stopped when Mrs. Bennet addressed me.

"Elle there is plenty of room at our table."

I spun around to give the older woman a hopeful look.

"Only if Claire-Bear here doesn't mind." I said offering the seventeen year old a sweet smile.

"Do NOT call me that and yes I do mi-"

"Of course she doesn't mind, Elle. Now please sit." Sandra said cutting off her daughter.

I grinned and took the empty seat across from the cheerleader. I tossed the younger girl a wink which she returned with a glare.

A stack of waffles was set in front of me and I nearly squealed with delight like a little child. After the first bite it felt as if my mouth was going to explode from the unbelievably wonderful taste.

"Mrs. Bennet, these are delicious!" I gushed and shoved some more waffles in my mouth.

I'd have to get up early for breakfast more often.

"Thank you, Elle."

"You're welcome." I replied curtly and practically inhaled the rest of the stack.

I failed to notice that the cheerleader's eyes had been on me and for some reason it made me feel uneasy. I suppose I shouldn't have eaten so fast, but who could blame me?

"Your table manners are impeccable." The teenager dryly commented.

So she had been sitting there scrutinizing my every move?

Regardless, I managed a strained smile.

"Don't you have school today, kiddo?" I asked failing to realize the blue sparks dancing around the glass of orange juice I was gripping.

Before she could get out a reply, Sandra interrupted her again.

"Claire go get ready for school."

She rolled her eyes in response but pushed herself back from the table to stand.

My eyes couldn't help but be drawn where the camisole she was wearing had rode up to expose part of her toned stomach. But once I realized that I let my eyes linger for too long, where they shouldn't have been lingering anyway, I averted my gaze to my empty plate. I quickly downed the rest of my OJ and grabbed my plate and made my way over to the dishwasher where Sandra was putting away dishes from the night before. Pom Pom appeared at my side and she seemed to be willing me to move with her mind.

Sheesh, she could have just asked me politely, we all know she doesn't have telekinesis.

"Yes Claire?" I asked feigning a concerned look and realized I was blocking her way to the sink.

She could have also just walked around the other way. Her expression clearly stated she was irritated and I had to stop myself from laughing. The cheerleader's buttons were so much fun to push.

"I'm trying to get to the sink. So if you could just move your sorry a-"

"Oh let me get that for you Claire-Bear. You'll be late for school if you don't start getting ready now." I replied and snatched the plate from her hands.

"Elle's right, Claire." Sandra said still putting up dishes.

"Whatever." Pom Pom mumbled and practically stormed out of the kitchen.

"Oh and wake your brother up!" Mrs. Bennet shouted. "Or else I'll send Elle up for a wake up call."

I grinned at the idea for a split second before I realized I was still standing with dirty plates in my hands.

"I'll wash these Mrs. Bennet." I said placing the plates in the sink. "Mr. Muggles looks like he wants to go outside." I said glancing at the little dog that was barking at the leash rack.

"Well thank you, Elle. You are a very sweet young woman." Sandra said before grabbing a leash and hooking it onto Mr. Muggles' collar to lead him out the front door.

I chuckled to myself once I heard the front door shut.

Me? Sweet?

It took about 3 minutes to wash and dry the two plates. I figured it wouldn't have taken so long if I hadn't made a mess of my plate with syrup. Finding where the dishes went was a different challenge. I wasn't really paying attention to exactly where Sandra put the plates, so after about 10 minutes I managed to find where to put them.

Just as I was ascending the stairs, Cheerleader decided to grace me with her presence. I did have to admit I was never one to complain when she wore her cheerleading uniform.

"What are you staring at freak?" She venomously spat.

I didn't notice that I had stopped to pretty much gawk at the younger girl, but I quickly snapped out of the trance at the sound of her voice.

Wait did she just call me a freak? Well whatever makes princess feel better about herself...

I made my way up the rest of the stairs so I was right in front of her. I wouldn't have been completely surprised if she had attempted to push me down the stairs then. I glanced at the expectant look on her face and merely raised an eyebrow at her.

Like I actually _had_ to answer to her when she spoke to me.

"Nothing." I finally replied and flashed her a charming grin. "Have a good day at school Claire-Bear."

I reached my hand out to give her wrist a little zap.

She flinched and swatted my hand away.

"Why don't you just cut your little act? You're not fooling anyone." She said, her voice dangerously low.

I chuckled. "If you say so, Cheerleader." I simply retorted before tossing her another wink and made my way to the guest room.

* * *

I had never been to a football game and although I was dreading it, a small part and I mean very small part of me was looking forward to it. The game itself wasn't that terrific even though Costa Verde High was number one in their conference or whatever, but watching the cheerleaders, one in particular kept me greatly entertained. Claire was actually a pretty good pom pom waver and the way her face glowed while she was on the track with the other pom pom wavers was kinda cute.

The sound of a loud buzzer brought me out of the daze I was in and even though I knew little about sports, I figured it was halftime.

"I'm going to get something to drink. Do you want anything Elle?" Sandra asked me as she grabbed her purse.

As I was about to respond I noticed Pom Pom making her way over to the concession stand.

"I'll get it Mrs. Bennet." I said offering a smile.

"Well...ok. Here's three dollars. That should be enough for two sodas."

I nodded and squeezed my way through the people sitting on our row and headed down the bleachers with the money secured in my back pocket. I was relieved that Sandra had informed me about typical football game attire. If she hadn't have said anything I would most definitely have felt overdressed. So I settled for a pair of worn jeans and a blue Costa Verde High School tshirt that Sandra had gotten from Pom Pom's room. I spotted Cheerleader and her cheerleader friends and just as I was about to approach her, a few guys joined them in line. One of them I recognized as West, Pom Pom's flying ex-boyfriend, who's face actually did kinda resemble a bird of some sort. I chuckled to myself a little at the thought as I walked over to the group.

"Hey Claire-Bear!" I said rather gleefully.

Pom Pom turned to face me and her facial expression was nearly priceless. She shot me this look that I interpreted as her wanting me to turn into a pile of dust on the spot. I guess she wasn't exactly open about having a diagnosed sociopath "living" under her roof.

"Elle, right?" West said looking at me cautiously.

Damn right he better be scared.

"That's me." I replied with a grin and noticed the other two boys blatantly checking me out.

"This is..."

But I wasn't paying attention to their names. I was more focused on and slightly amused by the fact that Cheerleader looked unmistakably bothered by my mere presence. Her friends on the other hand didn't seem to mind. They threw a bunch of questions at me and suddenly I felt a little overwhelmed with the attention. But Claire wasn't having any of this. After harshly grabbing my arm and excusing us, she led me a little ways under the bleachers. I was _almost _grateful that Pom Pom had pulled me away from her overly curious friends.

"Something wrong, _Claire_?" I inquired innocently and glanced at my arm that she was still gripping.

"What do you think you're doing?" She hissed and yanked me closer to her. "Hey is that one of my shirts?!"

In response I let a strong current of electricity run down my arm to where her hand was. It served to startle her more so than hurt her, since she still couldn't feel pain. She ripped her hand away with a yelp of surprise and took a step back.

I glared and rubbed at my arm where her nails had nearly broken the skin.

"What do you think _you're_ doing? I was having an innocent conversation with West and..." East and South? Were those their names? Whatever. "....whats-their-faces. Then you tried to rip my fucking arm off. And yes this is your shirt and before you start throwing tantrums about that, your mother let me wear it."

"If you think I'm gonna let a crazed person like yourself associate themselves with my friends-"

I let the "crazed person" comment slide.

"Um we were _just_ talking Pom Pom. It's not like I was pinning them to the fence and mercilessly electrocuting them." I said and formed a tiny ball of electricity in my palm. "Even though the idea does sound kinda tempting..." I added as an afterthought.

That statement seemed to infuriate the younger girl even more...and I still wasn't sure what exactly caused her to be angry in the first place. The sparks from my hand gave off a small glow and it illuminated her face some. The blue sparks emitting from my hand danced with the green coloring of the cheerleader's eyes and I was truly mesmerized for a few moments.

"Stop that!" She said grasping my hand which held the electrical ball.

I snorted and doubled the size causing Pom Pom to tightly shut her eyes. Her grip on my hand tightened and I began to wonder what she was feeling since it wasn't pain. With my free hand I brought it up to roughly cup one side of her face. Her eyes snapped open and she gazed at me confusedly. With little effort I transferred the current from my hand that was in hers to the one holding her face and she attempted to withdraw from me.

"Tell me something." I whispered and made sure to give her a few zaps as my finger tips traced along one side of her face. "What _do_ you feel when I shock you?"

She seemed taken aback by the random question judging by her even more confused expression. Her mouth opened and closed a few times and she didn't meet my eyes. I ran a finger down the bridge of her nose, giving her another shock and she hesitantly looked at me. Trying to see how much I could mess with the girl, I brought my face closer to hers.

"Claire." I breathed and with my thumb I outlined her bottom lip, not forgetting to elicit a tiny shock.

She gasped and I smirked bringing my lips closer to hers. I had to push down this new desire to press my lips against the younger girl's.

"Answer my question." I whispered and rested my hand at the base of her neck.

"I feel-" But she cut herself off and I groaned with impatience.

I concentrated and allowed a small current to pass from my lips to hers and if I didn't know any better I'd say she moaned and even tried to bring our lips together. I pulled away from the teenager all together and put a good distance between us. I watched her nibble her bottom lip and I fought the urge to continue what I had started.

"Elle I feel-"

"How long are halftimes?" I asked cutting her off.

She tilted her head a little but her eyes suddenly widened when she realized that she still had the 2nd half to cheer at.

"Ugh! I'm late and its your fault!" She shouted making her way back out to the open.

"My fault?!"

But she didn't reply and took off running towards the gates that lead to the track.

I shrugged it off after awhile and made my way to the concession stand line for the sodas I was supposed to have gotten sometime ago.

* * *

A/N: Review and let me know if anyone is interested in a continuation of this.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Since I received more positive feedback than I expected I'm gonna keep going with this. So enjoy...or not. Its whatever.

* * *

Two

The sound of clumsy footsteps wasn't what I was used to hearing at 12 in the morning in the Bennet home. Even though I was tired, curiosity got the best of me and I peeked my head outside of my door. Although the hallway was fairly dark, I could see blonde hair whipping around the corner. I rubbed my eyes with the back of my hands wondering if I had imagined it, but a loud thud followed by some colorful words confirmed otherwise. As quietly and swiftly as possible I made my way to the staircase. I spotted the cheerleader lying face first at the bottom of the stairs. I let out a chuckle at the sight.

The teen scurried off the floor and turned to look up at me as I made my way down the stairs. The look of embarrassment on her face was quickly replaced with an irritated expression. I continued smiling as I stood in front of her, not being able to shake the previous image from my mind.

"What are you doing?" She hissed and glanced over my shoulder. I suppose she was a little worried that Noah or Sandra heard her unsuccessful attempts at being stealthy.

I simply cocked an eyebrow at the younger girl and took in her appearance. It was obvious she wasn't dressed for a midnight snack.

"I think the question is what are _you_ doing?" I retorted, pointing a finger charged with electricity at her.

She seemed to hesitate with her answer as she eyed my finger wearily. I reduced the charge until it was just a tiny crackle.

"I was just going to get some water..." She mumbled, folding her arms over her chest.

I laughed and shook my head at the teen. "Bullshit Pom Pom. I doubt you needed to throw on some jeans and a nice top to get some water...in your own kitchen."

She sighed and then shrugged nonchalantly. "It's none of your business."

I smirked at this. "But it is your parents business, right?" I asked and noticed her eyes widen. "NOA-"

Her hand that had instantly clamped over my mouth muffled my screaming.

"Elle don't you fucking dare!" She whispered, glaring furiously at me.

I rolled my eyes and sent the cheerleader's hand a nice jolt of electricity from my mouth. She snatched her hand away in response. I opened my mouth as if to attempt to scream again and her hand automatically flew for it's previous position. I easily caught her small hand with my own and sent a large current of blue sparks from my hand in to hers. The blue sparks traveled up her arm and spread over the rest of her body.

"Elle!" She moaned.

At hearing this I felt a steady throb between my legs and I immediately snatched my hand out of hers. Even after breaking contact, the blue sparks danced on her skin for a few more seconds before completely subsiding. She managed a glare in my direction as her ragged breathing began to return to normal.

"Not that I owe you an explanation," She said examining her hand that began rapidly healing from the electrical burns, "but I'm going out with friends."

"Going out where at nearly 1am?"

"Waffle House."

I narrowed my eyes. If that really was the case then I really had no reason to be worried. No worried is the wrong word; cautious is more like it. My neck would be on the line if anything happened to her while I was here.

"What could you possibly want waffles for at-"

"Look I'm going. I was already supposed to be outside like ten minutes ago-"

"But your lack of ninja skills set you back?" I teased and chuckled at the memory of only a few minutes ago. The sight of Pom Pom sprawled out on the floor would definitely come in handy if I ever needed a good laugh.

She shot me a nasty look before turning on her heel, which infuriated me 'cause I still wasn't finished getting to the bottom of this sneaking out thing. I followed her into the kitchen and noticed she was heading for the back door. I grabbed her arm roughly and spun her around so she faced me.

"Now what?" She asked, exasperatedly and yanked her arm from my grip.

"Why wouldn't you, oh I don't know, jump out your window? It's not like the fall would have hurt you."

She gave me this incredulous look as if I had grown another head.

"Do you think that really would be smart?" She asked and I shrugged my shoulders in response. "My friend, who's waiting outside, probably would be just a little freaked out if she saw me launch myself out of my window and get up and walk away like it was nothing."

I suppose she made a good point.

"That's understandable. But why not just climb down?" Isn't that what teens did? I wouldn't really know from experience, but I did watch a lot of movies.

"There's nothing to climb down on."

"So taking a noisy detour through the house was the best plan?"

"I definitely wasn't that noisy and it seemed like the most normal way..."

Claire and that word normal. I thought she was over that.

"Yeah right! That fall should have woken the entire house-"

"But it didn't." She quickly interjected. "Plus I...-hey you know what?"

"Um...what?"

"I'm done talking. Like I said I don't owe you an explanation." And with that she turned around and quietly opened the door and slipped out into the night.

Without hesitation I quickly grabbed my car keys that were conveniently on the kitchen table. I spotted a pair of yellow Crocs by the door and groaned with distaste at the sight. Regardless, I slipped into the things and exited in the same fashion Pom Pom had. I ran around to the front of the house and caught sight of the cheerleader hopping in a mustang convertible. The car sped off and I immediately ran for my own car. I was annoyed when the keyless entry button gadget thing decided to not work, so had to manually unlock the car myself. I managed to locate the car, which hadn't really gotten far anyway and kept a safe following distance to not arouse suspicion. As I followed the mustang through the third neighborhood, I took note of a bunch of cars lined up and down the street.

"Waffle House my ass." I mumbled, parking my car on the side of the street, nearly taking out someone's mailbox out in the process.

I turned my car off and kept my eyes on the cheerleader as she made her way into a house with her female friend. I sat for awhile, contemplating on whether I should go inside or wait in the car. There was no doubt that I would feel awkward at a high school party, so I decided on waiting in the car. I felt almost stalker-ish, but I figured I was doing the right thing by looking out for Pom Pom, but only because it was a part of my job whenever I wasn't working with Noah. _Anyways_...I relaxed in the seat and wondered if maybe I was taking this 'babysitting' job too seriously. The cheerleader could handle herself, right?

Before I knew it, an hour had flown by and the clock on my radio read 2:14. I yawned as I got out of the car and stretched my back out before walking towards the house I saw Pom Pom and her friend enter. Just as I pushed the door open I immediately regretted my decision to get out of the car. There I was standing in a tank top and flannel pajama pants and bright ass yellow Crocs. My hair was in its natural wavy state and I'm sure it looked like I just electrocuted myself. I tried to shrug off the stares I was getting and made my way through the crowds in search of a particular blonde cheerleader.

"Hey Elle!" I heard someone call and the next thing I knew I was being approached by one of the guys I met at the football game.

"Er...hi....you." I said, not being able to recall that boy's name for the life of me. Oh well.

"Those are some pretty sweet shoes you-"

"Have you seen Claire?" I asked standing on my tip toes to peer around the room.

"I saw her a few seconds ago with West." He replied and stepped just a bit too much in my personal space. "Yeah there they are." He pointed over my shoulder and I whipped my head around in time to see flying boy practically dragging the cheerleader upstairs.

"K thanks." I said and took off in their direction.

"Hey wait!" But I ignored him and quickly pushed my way through the grinding bodies.

I made it to the staircase and took two at a time when I caught sight of a door closing not too far away. Without hesitation I ran for the door and had the strange urge to kick it in as if I was coming to the rescue or something absurd like that. I opened the door and I saw flying boy trying to force an obviously drunk Claire onto the bed. My hands immediately began charging balls of electricity and I didn't even register the growling sound I was making. I fired the electricity straight into West knocking him off Pom Pom and onto to the floor with a nice thud.

"Elle?" Pom Pom said confusedly as she sat up and looked at me with glazed over eyes.

I managed a weak smile towards the girl before walking around the bed to where West was lying and writhing in pain.

"Hello West. Nice to see you again." I said and shot a harsh current of electricity at the boy who let out a scream in agony.

I kept a steady flow going into him even as his body jerked to and fro in response. I probably had this sadistic look on my face because we all know how much fun I get out of electrocuting people...

"Elle stop!" I registered the cheerleader scream and although I did hesitate, I continued firing as much electricity into flying boy. After all, he did deserve it for what he was trying to do to Pom Pom.

I felt a hand on my arm and noticed that the girl was trying to stop me. She looked like she was on the verge of tears and I slowly but surely stopped torturing West. He groaned and tried to get up but my hand automatically shot another ball of electricity at him. He fell back down and just lied there thrashing about and I smiled somewhat satisfied.

"Let's go." I said turning to the cheerleader.

"But Elle..." Pom Pom whined as I began dragging her out of the room.

She nearly fell down the stairs and while it would have been funny to see her on the ground again, I decided to offer my help. I supported her weight by wrapping my arm around her waist as we continued downstairs and out of the door. She wrapped her arm around my shoulder as I practically carried her down the street to my car. She had her face buried in my neck and while her warm breath on my skin was causing a stir of weird emotions, the stench of alcohol on her breath was making my head hurt. I opened the passenger car door with a bit of trouble, seeing how I was trying to keep Claire-bear upright. I carefully slid her in the car, but apparently not careful enough 'cause she bumped her head on the top.

"Ow." She groaned once I had her settled in the seat.

"Oh whatever cheerleader. You know that didn't hurt." I replied shutting her door and made my way around to the drivers side.

I started the car and realized I had left my keys in the ignition while I was inside rescuing that damn girl. Oh well. Atleast no one wanted my car. The ride back to the Bennet's was silent, minus the groaning noises Pom Pom seemed to be making beside me.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I said glancing over at the blonde that was covering her mouth with her hand.

"I don't feel so good." I heard her mumble.

_Excellent._

"Claire if you fucking puke-"

And too late. A good majority of the passenger side of my car was ruined and continued to be ruined for the next couple of minutes.

I groaned and rolled down all the windows in the car and even opened the sunroof to get some type of ventilation going.

"Ugh!" I cried out pinching my nostrils as if it would block out the smell completely. "Are you done?!" I nearly shouted, shooting her a glare as we pulled into the driveway of her house.

She just grumbled something and I was afraid she puke again, this time all over my side. I quickly jumped out of my car, not bothering to roll up the windows, and then raced around to the other side to get the cheerleader out. With much effort on my part, we both made it around to the back door and as quietly as possible we made it up stairs. I dragged her into the bathroom and sat her down on the toilet lid. I turned on the shower to a comfortable temperature and looked at the blonde teen impatiently. She just gazed at me with a somewhat cute and confused face.

"You need to get out of those clothes," I said and felt myself blushing at my own words, "and take a shower. You reek."

She frowned at this and stood on wobbly legs before collapsing back onto the toilet. I groaned and walked over to the younger girl and stood her up myself. I grabbed the hem of her shirt and began dragging it up. She let out a gasp and looked at me with wide eyes.

"What're you doing?" She asked as I continued lifting the shirt over her head which was quite complicated since she wouldn't lift her arms.

"Something you can't seem to do yourself. Now can you cooperate and lift your damn arms?" I said and she cautiously did so.

Once her shirt was off, my eyes couldn't help but linger on her chest that was covered by a blue and white polka dot bra. My eyes trailed down her toned abdomen and came to rest on the button on her jeans. I felt the heating rising in my face and I was praying she was too drunk to notice. With much hesitation I reached my hands out to undo the button and my face was probably tomato red by then. I glanced at her face and I noticed her eyes were shut and her face was slightly flushed. Atleast I wasn't the only one feeling odd about this. I returned my gazed to the zipper and I bit my lip as I dragged it down. I tried to push down the feeling of slight arousal especially since this would be the wrong time to be aroused since she was indeed intoxicated and not to forget, seventeen.

My hands somehow found their way to her hips and they began to pull her jeans down without dragging her matching polka dot panties with them. That would've just caused a whole lot more of awkwardness for weeks. I managed to get the jeans successfully to her ankles and she grabbed onto my shoulders so she could step out of them. I tried to keep my eyes focused on her face, but I was too tempted to catch a glimpse of her legs as she untangled her feet from her jeans. Somehow throughout this process my hands ended up back on her hips. I kept telling myself it was only to help her keep her balance...We stood there for a few seconds with our eyes locked on one another before I managed to snap out of the trance I was in.

"Can you handle the rest. I don't think I could..." But the rest trailed off as I removed the younger girls hands from my shoulders.

She nodded and reached around to unhook her bra and I immediately turned to leave, quietly shutting the door behind me on the way out. I walked into my room and collapsed on the bed. I still smelled of Claire's fucking vomit and I probably could've just showered with her. To save water of course. After about 15 or so minutes I heard the shower turn off and I grabbed my towel and made my way to the bathroom. I nearly collided with the girl as she came out of the bathroom wrapped in a rather short towel. I averted my eyes and quickly entered the bathroom for a long _cold_ shower.

What took me by surprise when I came back into my room was Pom Pom wrapped snuggly up in _my_ blankets on _my_ bed. I sighed and shook my head before making my way over to the dresser to pull out some comfy shorts and a tshirt. I glanced over at the bed and it seemed that the teen was passed out, so I took this time to quickly dry myself off before getting dressed. I was just about to grab a pillow and make my way downstairs to sleep on the couch before I heard the younger girl stir.

"Elle?" Her voice sounded so small.

I turned around hesitantly. Damn I could've sworn she was out. "Yeah cheerleader?"

"You can sleep with me if you want." I nearly chuckled at her choice of words.

_Atleast I have her persmission._ I joked to myself.

I made my way over to the bed and she scooted some and lifted the covers so I could properly get in the bed. I turned my back towards her and pulled the covers comfortably over myself and shut my eyes. I felt the bed shifting and before I knew it she had thrown her arm over my waist and pressed her body against mine so she was spooning me. The feeling of her smooth legs against mine was nearly driving me mad.

"Um...Pom Pom?" I whispered turning my head slightly to look at her.

"Hmm...?" She replied tightening her arm around me.

"Can I just ask what the fuck do you think you're doing?" I hissed.

"I dunno." She said and then I felt her soft lips press against the side of my neck.

I involuntarily shivered at the sensation but felt myself leaning closer towards her. Her hand, which had somehow crept up under my shirt began making small circles on my stomach. The muscles in my stomach clenched and I squirmed at the tickling feeling. Her fingers began traveling down towards the waistband of my shorts and I gasped when I felt her hand push past the waistband and slid further south. I gasped when she reached my sex and her breathing became faster in my ear. Impatiently, she nudged at my leg and my muscles betrayed me when I felt my leg move to give her better access. I let out a moan when her hand cupped me and her breath hitched in her throat.

"Elle...you're so wet." She whispered as her lips brushed against my ear.

_And she was so very right about that._

"Claire don't." I said, grabbing her hand to pull it from my shorts even though I really didn't want to. "Just please go to sleep." I whispered.

She whimpered in protest but pulled my hand from hers. At first I though she was going to try again, but she simply returned her hand back to where it was on my stomach before mumbling 'sweet dreams'.

And sweet dreams I did have.

* * *

A/N: Are there waffle houses in CA? If not, oh well.  
I love how in the recent episode of heroes sandra mentions claire being 17 to alex, but I could of sworn someone said she was already 18...  
And not knowing who rebel is is killing me!  
Alright well reviews are always appreciated.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Yes it has been brought to my attention that Claire is incapable of getting drunk...but whatever. Its my fic. :)

* * *

The feel of a warm body pressed tightly against my back, was something different to wake up to. For a second I nearly panicked and overloaded with the thought of a stranger being curled up against me in my bed, but I remembered last nights events. Pom Pom's warm breath on the back of my neck made me sigh and I allowed myself to relax back into the younger girl's embrace. I lied there for what seemed like hours as I listened to the soothing sound of Claire's steady breathing and enjoyed the gentle movements of her chest against my back.

I thought back to the night before and how the inside of my car was probably ruined forever. But I guess it was worth it. If I hadn't followed cheerleader and her friend to that party, not-so-superboy would have probably had his way with her. The thought of that boy, _West_, with his stupid grimy hands all over her left a bad taste in my mouth. It angered me to the point where I failed to notice the blue sparks ignite across my body. I heard incoherent grumbling and small whimpers coming from the younger girl.

"That tingles." Cheerleader said in a very raspy sounding voice.

She tightened her grip on me, making it hard for me to breath in more than one sense. I managed to calm myself to stop the currents that were transferring into the teen. And as complicated as it was, I managed to turn myself in her arms so I was face-to-face with her. Her eyes were still shut but I wasn't sure if she was still sleeping. My hand found its way into the cheerleader's blonde hair and began to tenderly caress her scalp. She lightly moaned and tilted her head back into the touch. Pom Pom's innocent moans were causing quite a response to the area between my thighs and I found myself clenching my thighs together in attempt to relieve the ache.

Without warning, the seventeen year old had rolled on top of me. She nudged my legs apart with her knee before straddling my thigh and shoving her own thigh against the throbbing part of my body. I let out a loud moan at the sudden yet greatly appreciated maneuver and squeezed my thighs around hers. To my surprise, I realized that the cheerleader was wearing a tshirt, with absolutely nothing under it. She felt slick, rubbing herself roughly against my thigh.

My hands managed to grip her waist, but accidentally, my hands released a surge of electricity at the same time. Pom Pom's eyes flew open and she stared at me confusedly for several seconds. She blinked once. Twice. And after the third time, a look of pure horror painted her features. I opened my mouth to speak, but stopped, since I had no clue what would be appropriate to say in a situation like this.

"Elle what are you doing?!" She shrieked, trying to untangle herself from me and unceremoniously fell to the floor.

I sat up and looked at the girl that was scrambling to her feet with disbelief. "What am I doing?! I wasn't doing anything. You on the other hand Pom Pom, were-were...uh grinding my damn leg like there's no tomorrow!" I said standing to poke an accusing finger at the younger girl.

She shot me a glare and began tugging at the t-shirt she was wearing, which was useless since it wouldn't come pass mid thigh anyway. The cheerleader's mouth opened and closed a few times before she just stuck with glaring at me.

"No retort Claire-Bear?" I asked, raising a brow.

I was genuinely surprised that little miss cheerleader had not argued her defense. But I was more than willing to continue what we had started that morning if she would just get over herself. That didn't seem likely though since she decided to flee from the room in what appeared to be less than a second. I groaned and collapsed onto the bed in frustration. There was still that unbearable throb between my legs that needed to be taken care of.

* * *

The several days that followed that mornings incident were sufficiently awkward. Pom Pom seemed intent on avoiding me and any sort of communication with the others in the house. Whenever I attempted to look for the blonde cheerleader she couldn't be found anywhere on the Bennet property. And Noah, being the suspicious paranoid bastard that he is, picked up on his Claire-Bear's odd extensive disappearances from the household. He thought it was best to leave it up to me to investigate. Of course I had a few suspicions on why she didn't want to be in the house, but I was sure _he_ didn't want to hear them...

I rolled over onto my back on my bed. Why did Cheerleader have to make things so complicated? I didn't mind at all about that morning. It was the most exciting morning I'd ever had. I spent a majority of my time trying to decode the cheerleader's thoughts. But I couldn't really figure out why she reacted the way she did. I sure as hell hope she wasn't trying to blame me for the situation. It wasn't my fault that I didn't know she was half asleep. I sighed and grew tired of trying to figure out the way Pom Pom's mind worked. I glanced at the clock on the nightstand which read 11:47 A.M. An idea popped in my head, and although it was risky, it seemed like my only hope.

I crawled out of bed and threw on jeans and a tank top before attempting to tame my unruly hair. Without much success, I decided to leave it in its wavy state and practically ran all the way out of the house. I hopped into my car, which had been cleaned thanks to Noah, and took off down the street. While I was grateful that Noah had payed to have the inside of my car ripped out to be cleaned, I had been annoyed by his twenty one question game he wanted to play. He didn't really like my excuse of picking up a drunk homeless guy to take to a shelter. In response of course he had said, "Why would you pick up a drunk homeless guy?" And I simply replied, "How was I supposed to know he was drunk? I thought all homeless people smelled like that..."

As I pulled into the visitor lot at Costa Verde High School, I could see the students making their way around the campus during their lunch break. Once I put my car in park, I wasted no time in getting out of the car to search for a particular blonde cheerleader. The campus was rather large, and I was about to declare myself lost until I spotted the area where most of the students were eating. As I grew closer I recognized the group of cheerleader's, since they were all wearing the uniforms. I easily spotted Pom Pom within the group, who was sitting on top of the lunch table while the others were sitting on the bench part or standing around her. I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "Just like Claire-Bear to be the center of attention." I bitterly mumbled to myself as I approached the table.

I took note of the others around her table. They were mostly the Jock-ish looking guys, probably football players judging by their huge build. What really grabbed my attention was West, making his way over to Pom Pom's table. I snarled at the sight of the flying boy and just as I was about to change course and electrocute the hell out of him, I was being dragged in the opposite direction.

"What are you doing here?" I heard a voice ask with the familiar tone of disdain.

Immediately knowing who the voice belonged to, I reluctantly allowed myself to be dragged behind a building. "What? I can't stop by to see my favorite cheerleader during her lunch?" I asked, feigning sadness.

"Really what are you doing here?" She repeated once we were in a well secluded area.

"Like I said, I came to see you."

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at me. "Well what do you want?"

_If she only knew. _I allowed my eyes to slowly travel along her cheerleading uniform-clad figure.

"Since it's like you don't even live at home anymore, I figured this is the only place to find you." Without really stalking you. I chose not to say that aloud.

"Don't call it home Elle. It's not _your_ home." She whispered.

I ignored the pang of sadness that her words inflicted on me and leaned against the brick wall in a nonchalant manner. I sighed and shook of the lingering affect of her words. "Ok this is not what I came over here for so if you cou-"

"What did you come here for then?!" She shouted and stepped closer to me so our bodies were almost touching.

"Can I finish my sentences?!" I asked exasperatedly.

"Talk faster." She mumbled and I could feel her warm breath fan across my face.

"Well stop interrupting me dammit." I retorted and was tempted to shock the seventeen year old, even though it wouldn't produce the desired affect on her. I waited a few seconds, wondering if she would have a reply, but after a brief moment of silence I continued. "About that morning-"

"Drop it." She said, cutting me off yet again.

I groaned with annoyance. "Can you keep your mouth shut for two seconds? I know from experience that you can't keep your legs shut but please try!"

Judging by the look on Pom Pom's face that was the wrong thing to say. I didn't even notice her hand move from the side of her body to connect with the left side of my face. But the sound and immediate sting that came made me realize that she had indeed just slapped me.

"Ow!" I exclaimed cupping the side of my face. "What the fuck cheerleader?!"

"What you said was _so_ uncalled for." She replied and began turning around.

I grabbed her arm and spun her into me, forcing her body to collide with mine. "Yeah and so was you smacking me."

She snorted and mumbled a "whatever."

"As pissed off as I am right now, I still came here to talk to you." I said tightening my grip on her arm since she was trying to break free. "We need to talk about that morning. I'm not understanding why you reacted the way you did. And your damn unreadableness is making me restless."

She stopped struggling and stared at me with an expression that I couldn't place. She then looked at the ground and her shoulders slumped forward.

"I was just embarrassed, ok?" She spoke barely above a whisper.

"Embarrassed? What do you have to be embarrassed about? It's not like I actually," _gulp_, "minded."

She looked up at me once I said this and I felt these strange sensations in my stomach. I got the same feeling the first time I went on a mission for The Company, but that feeling paled in comparison to the one I felt right then.

Before I knew it, the younger girl's lips were pressed harshly against mine. The sudden contact sent my head back and it collided with the wall behind me. I let out a gasp of pain, and the cheerleader took this opportunity to slip her tongue into my mouth. I wasn't sure if I was feeling lightheaded from hitting my head or from Pom Pom's tongue sliding against my own or both. After a few more coaxing strokes of her tongue, mine began to move with as much vigor as hers. She let out a moan once I began responding and I felt her hands weave their way into my hair. I hastily grabbed her hips and pulled her closer so she was pressed tightly to me. We continued kissing like this for a few more minutes, both of us reluctant to break apart for air and too distracted to try to breathe through our noses. We pulled away slightly, breathing ragged breaths on each others faces.

"I should visit you for lunch more often." I whispered, causing cheerleader to smile.

* * *

A/N: I really wanted to update sooner, but I found myself kinda stuck for awhile cause I wasn't sure where I wanted this to go. I'm still not sure where the fic is going really...but uh its going somewhere? Not far, but somewhere hopefully. Review! ...or not. Its cool.  
Oh and I'm kinda liking Claire's bangs. :o)


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:** Well...it's been over a year since I last updated this and I keep getting emails about people alerting this and adding this fic to their favorites. The fact that people aren't giving up (although I'm sure some of you have), has really driven me to keep writing. So here, after the longggg wait, is Chapter 4. I'm still winging this story...so I'm open to suggestions ahah. But seriously. Enjoy...or not. It's whatever.

Disclaimer: Now that NBC has canceled Heroes, can I own it? No? Well damn.

* * *

**Four**

"I should visit you for lunch more often," I whispered, causing the cheerleader to smile.

Without much hesitation on both of our parts, our lips connected again. I brought my hands around to rest them on the small of her back, pulling her, if possible, closer. Her hands securely held my face, as if she was trying to keep me from escaping. Not like I wanted to, nor could with her body pinning me to the hard brick wall.

As much as I wanted to, I couldn't bring myself to care that this was my boss's daughter that I was feverishly lip-locking with. Pom Pom's lips on mine forced away any rational thought that attempted to intrude my mind though.

I began harshly nibbling on her lower lip, and not surprisingly, she had barely registered the notion. I concentrated and sent a few shocks from my own mouth to hers, causing her to moan. I released her bottom lip with a satisfied smirk and returned to kissing her. Without bothering to seek permission first, her tongue managed to effortlessly pry my mouth open for an entrance. I tilted my head some, deepening the kiss as my tongue sought hers out. I moaned with a feeling of complacency when our tongues repeatedly brush against each others.

After awhile, her mouth left mine and I groaned with irritation. But that groan soon turned in to a gasp when I felt her nip and suck at the pulse on my neck. I reclined my head against the brick wall behind me and let her lips and teeth assault the sensitive spots on my neck. I took a sharp intake of breath when she almost broke skin and if I wasn't mistaken, it felt as if she was grinning against my neck.

"I'm gonna warn you," I started but her mouth making its way up to my earlobe forced my train of thought to stop.

"You were saying?" She whispered and tugged gently at the lobe.

I inwardly cursed the cheerleader for being able to cloud my mind and she discontinued her actions due to my silence.

"Elle?" She breathed in my ear.

I shook my head and decided to take advantage of the situation, as Pom Pom had too much control already. Besides, I still couldn't remember whatever the hell I was gonna say. She pulled away slightly so she could look me in the eyes with an impatient expression. I took note that her green eyes had darkened considerably since a few minutes ago. In a second, I had our positions switched so she was pressed up against the wall. She emitted a gasp at the unexpected maneuver and I hungrily regarded her red, swollen lips.

Before she could speak, probably in protest, my mouth claimed hers in an almost feral manner. But apparently she didn't mind because she returned the kiss with as much brutal force. With tenderness and timidness being the last things on are our minds, our hands hastily began roaming each others bodies. I decided on moving my hand under the top to explore the cheerleader's taut stomach. As I outlined each pattern with a zap, I could feel the muscles tensing underneath my hand.

I could faintly hear the sound of a bell ringing in the distance, but to me, it was unimportant. But apparently the ringing must have registered in the cheerleader's mind because she was trying to detach her lips from mine. I whimpered in protest when she succeeded, which was only for a few seconds, 'cause my mouth found its way back to hers again.

"The bell-" She tried to say against my eager lips. "That bell means-"

"Shut up Cheerleader," I interjected before recapturing her lips.

The hand that was under the younger girl's uniform top snaked its way around her lower back to pull her closer again. With my knee, I managed to nudge my thigh between the younger girl's legs. She broke the kiss with a gasp against my lips and I moved my head back some so I could see her face. Her swollen lips were curved into a lazy smile as she regarded me through half shut eyes. My lips attached themselves to a spot on Pom Pom's neck and her head fell slightly to the side as a sigh escaped her mouth.

"Elle," Her tone held an almost plea-filled edge to it. When I didn't respond she called my name again, and I could tell she was trying to force her voice to sound more demanding and less lustful.

"Yes?" I murmured against her skin.

"We shouldn't be doing this." At hearing this I trailed my lips up to her earlobe in which I playfully tugged at. "I'm s-serious!" But she made no move to push me away and for that, I smiled against her ear.

I knew damn well we shouldn't have been doing it, but that made everything about this even more enticing. I moved my thigh against the heat I could feel through my jeans and the moan she made seemed to echo throughout my head. My eyes fluttered shut as I let the intoxicating sound wash over me and the throbbing between my thighs increased. Her head had lolled back to rest against mine as I was still assaulting her neck. Apparently she was done trying to make protests and for that, I was thankful.

She was mumbling something in to my hair which sounded something like "fingers" and "inside of me." Not bothering to confirm what she said, I allowed my hands to drift under her skirt. And just as I was about to reach my destination, that obnoxious ringing went off again. It sounded ten times louder than the last time it rang, which seemed like hours ago. Before I could even realize what was happening, I was shoved backwards so forcefully, I nearly fell over. After managing to regain my balance, I shot a confused look at the cheerleader.

"Care to explain your sudden change in attitude?" I asked, straining to keep my voice at a level tone.

"My lunch period is over," She replied, pulling her uniform top down to its proper position.

"So...?"

"So? So now I'm late to class thanks to you!" She furiously exclaimed.

She seemed to become even more furious when she noticed that her skirt had somehow twisted around.

"Wait, are you _really_ trying to blame me?" I questioned, striding towards the seventeen year old.

"Yes, since you decided to throw yourself at me!"

I gaped at her for awhile as I tried to figure out if she seriously had just said that.

"Correct me if I'm wrong Pom Pom, but I do believe that _you_ threw yourself at _me,_" I replied folding my arms over my chest.

"Fuck you," She said through gritted teeth.

With a small shrug of my shoulders, I merely chuckled.

"We're were getting around to it," I said with a smirk.

Her mouth opened for a retort, but instead of forming a coherent sentence, she said something that sounded a lot like gibberish to my ears. I chuckled again and she tossed a glare my way before heading back out into the open. I trudged after her and took note of the state the back of her uniform top was in.

"Oh _Claire-Bear,_" I said, trying to get her attention.

She tossed me a look that could kill over her shoulder before she broke out in to a run. I just sighed and shook my head at her foolish antics. With a slightly wicked smile playing at my lips, I headed towards the visitor parking lot in search of my car.

Perhaps someone else would be kind enough to let Claire-Bear know that the back of her uniform top now had rips and tears in it.

It wasn't until later that evening at dinner that I saw Pom Pom again. Well, she was late for dinner and Noah and Sandra weren't at all too pleased about it. Lyle looked pretty apathetic about the situation and only seemed to be concerned with how to make the okra on his plate disappear without entering his mouth. Just as he was about to stand up from the table, to no doubt dump the okra down the disposal, Sandra snapped her attention towards him.

"Lyle, you're not leaving this table until you eat your okra!" Sandra firmly said for the umpteenth time that night.

The youngest Bennet slumped in his seat and tossed me a helpless look. I merely shrugged at the boy. What did he want me to do? Fry his okra to a blackened crisp?

"Elle, if Claire's not home in the next five minutes then you and I are going to search for-"

Before he could finish his sentence, the cheerleader herself came bounding in through the front door. She sat her cheerleading bag down near the staircase and made her way into the kitchen with the rest of us.

"Um hi?" She said cautiously as she noticed the intense stares she was receiving. She avoided looking at me altogether and that was somewhat disheartening.

"'Um hi?' is all you have to say? Honey we've been calling your cell for _hours_! Your father and Elle were just getting ready to go out to look for you," Sandra said trying to make her voice sound scolding.

"Sorry cheer practice ran a little late," She simply replied, washing her hands in the sink. "And my cellphone-"

I didn't register whatever excuse she was using for her lateness because I was too busy regarding her with a lust-filled gaze. My mind flashed to earlier this afternoon when I had her pressed up against a brick wall with my lips feverishly moving over her soft skin. I desperately wanted to walk over there at this moment, pick her up, and lie her on top of the counter. I could her hear now, moaning and begging for me to taste her. And I would eventually succumb to her pleas and part her legs-

My mind was snapped out of its haze when Mr. Muggles barked loudly at Lyle who was trying to make an escape from the table.

Sandra flashed him a look and he quickly sat back down in the chair. I brought my hand up to my mouth to stifle a chuckle at the boy. He childishly stuck his tongue out at me and I chuckled harder. I failed to notice the cheerleader had made her way over to the rest of us and when I glanced up to look for her form, I saw her glaring at me from the opposite side of the table.

"Claire-Bear, how can you be so irresponsible?" Noah chided, taking off his glasses. Her gaze flickered to her father to answer, but he cut her off. "Just please be more responsible. You know how dangerous it is and we worry when we can't get in touch with you."

I almost laughed aloud. The only reason why _Claire-Bear _didn't answer her phone was because she had lost it. And I only knew this because I had found it buried in between the cushions on the couch. I could've told her where it was but watching the teen get scolded like a bad puppy was way more satisfying.

"Why are y'all so worried? Claire _is_ indestructible, remember?" Lyle cut in, still poking wearily at the okra on his plate.

"We know that, Lyle. But that won't stop people from taking her," Noah retorted with a frown.

"Who's gonna take me?" She questioned, not missing the quick look between myself and Noah.

"Claire-Bear, eat your supper," Noah said with a sigh and placed his glasses back on his face.

"But-"

"You heard your father," Sandra said, but flashed her husband a look and even I knew he was gonna get an earful later.

Throughout the meal, I would hesitantly look up from my plate to find Cheerleader glaring daggers at me. I would drop my gaze back to my food and fight the urge to fire a surge of electricity in her direction. The eldest Bennets finished their meal first and seemed to forget all about Lyle and his okra. They could be heard fiercely whispering all the way up stairs, until their bedroom door was shut. Lyle stood up with a grin and quickly disposed of his leftovers.

"I feel bad for those other cheerleaders," Lyle commented as he made his way out of the kitchen. "With the bitchy mood you seem to be in, I can only imagine that everyone on the team had to really suffer tonight."

Pom Pom turned her body around slightly and I couldn't see the look she had given her little brother, but I'm sure it was horrific enough to send him running up the stairs. I shook my head as I stood and grabbed my empty plate. The cheerleader turned back around and I could feel her eyes follow me all the way to the sink. I ignored her and washed and dried my dishes before putting them away. I could hear her get up from the table and could still feel her intense stare as she made her way over to the sink. She carelessly slid her plate and utensils in to the sink and they clanked loudly against the stainless steel. She stood close to me, but not too close and from the corner of my eye I could see her still peering at me.

I turned to face her and lazily leaned my hip against the edge of the counter. I raised a brow at the blonde teen and crossed my arms, just waiting for an outburst. Our staring contest continued and I was growing rather impatient. I looked over her lithe form and noticed she was no longer in her uniform from earlier today but in soffes and a tight tank top that accentuated the swell of her breasts. I heard her clear her throat and my eyes snapped up to meet her annoyed green ones.

"Mind telling me what happen to my uniform?" Pom Pom inquired with a level tone.

I couldn't help but grin impishly at the cheerleader. "I tried to warn you but you just-"

"I have to pay the school for that! It's damaged nearly beyond repair!" She exclaimed, the outburst beginning.

I shrugged and turned so the small of my back was against the counter's edge. "I _tried _to tell you-"

She stepped in front of me and poked a harsh finger on my forearm which I just swatted away. "I should make_ you_ pay for it! Since you-you tried to take adv-"

"Don't! I swear Pom Pom if you finish that sentence I'll-"

"You'll what Elle?" The cheerleader challenged, with a raise of one of her eyebrows.

I was silent for awhile. What could I possibly do to her? I couldn't physically harm her, and the thought of not being able to pained me. She smirked as she seemed to notice my dilemma and I narrowed my eyes at her.

"I didn't try to do anything at all," I said, causing her to scoff and roll her eyes. "You kissed me first!"

"Keep your voice down!" She hissed and if I wasn't mistaken, I could've sworn I saw her face turn a little red.

She whirled around and stalked over to the island at the center of the kitchen and placed her hands on the edge. I walked behind her and brought my arms around so my hands rested next to hers. I placed my lips next to her ear and playfully zapped her with my mouth. She groaned and I smirked as I pressed my front completely against her back.

"Pom Pom, why don't you just give in?" I inquired as I nuzzled my face into her neck.

"There's nothing to give into. This is nothing, Elle," Pom Pom whispered and turned around to face me. "If you thought something was going on, then you're more messed up in the head than everyone thought."

I glared and stepped closer so I was pinning her to the counter. "You're the one that's in denial. _You_ keep coming on to me."

Claire scoffed and attempted to push me away from her, but I stood my ground with a determined look I wanted to make this girl see that we had so much more than she thought. "Claire, stop trying to run away! That's your solution to everything!"

"Stop acting like you know me, Elle! You know nothing about me!" Claire practically shouted in my face.

"I know a lot more about you than you think, Cheerleader. I know more about you than you do! And you know why? Because your precious daddy, Noah, has told me so much stuff that you still don't know about yourself." I spoke rather proudly as if gloating because I knew more about what was going on with Claire's body than she did and I could tell she was battling with herself to not believe me. "Ask your dad...although, it's not like he'd tell you."

"Shut up!" Claire shouted and I was taken aback by the harshness in her voice. "Atleast my dad loves me! And he wasn't doing freakish experiments on me for my entire life!"

I looked at the girl disbelievingly. She had really sunken that low to talk about my past and the stuff I had no control over. My fingers dug into the surface of the counter as my whole body ignited with electrical surges. I wasn't sure if I was more angry at the truth that I was reluctant to remember or that the words had came from Pom Pom's mouth. The teen regarded me with a raised eyebrow and a smirk; she clearly thought she'd won. A irritated growl escaped my lips at the sight. I needed her to feel fear, pain, anything other than the blatant smugness she was displaying.

"Looks like I struck a nerve...or two," Claire spoke, not even flinching as the electricity became strong enough to travel to her body. "You're such a childish freak."

My anger increased tenfold as did the electricity emitting from my body. Self-control wasn't something I was used to, but I was trying so hard not to burn Pom Pom to a crisp; that would only result in Noah locking me up. I shut my eyes tightly and tried concentrating on other things; the beach, waffles, a Slusho during a stakeout, but nothing was working.

"Elle." I could hear something other than disgust in the cheerleader's voice. "Elle! Cut that out! You'll wake my parents...and probably the whole neighborhood!"

My eyes flew open and I noticed the lights flickering on and off. Pom Pom looked like she was in a state of panic and I slightly felt better knowing I had evoked some other response from her. I was just about to speak when Noah's unmistakable voice could be heard just outside the kitchen.

"I hope there's a good explanation for you nearly causing a blackout." Noah's voice was irritatingly calm. I managed to hinder the electricity practically darting off my body in all different directions.

"Claire-Bear and I just had a little disagreement is all." I didn't even bother to look at him as I spoke, I just kept my eyes trained on the girl in front of me, who regarded me with a distasteful look.

"Everything's fine Daddy," Pom Pom said and her eyes flickered over my shoulder to most likely meet Noah's. "Elle was just throwing a little temper tantrum."

It was silent for a moment and I could imagine Noah with that stupid look he always had on his face when he was clearly thinking too much about what his next words would be.

"I'm sure I speak for the rest of the neighborhood when I say that I hope your _little_ temper tantrums are a lot smaller." And with that I could hear him making his way back upstairs.

I was a little surprised because I was expecting more of an argument to ensue between us, since I was always getting scolded like a little child. Cheerleader's eyes made their way back to mine and our eyes narrowed simultaneously upon locking.

"Stay away from me," Claire spoke quietly yet harsh enough to put some emphasis to her words.

* * *

Several weeks had passed and I left Pom Pom alone. I'll admit I had felt the horrible sting of rejection for a few days, but the distraction of work became enough to take my mind off the silly teenaged girl. Noah and I had been traveling to New York atleast every other day to assist Danko's team in capturing some of the others with abilities. I didn't mind helping to bring some of them down whenever the little stun darts weren't enough, but I couldn't shake off the feeling that this was wrong. Some of these people with abilities we'd been hunting had done nothing to deserve this. I was grateful that I was being spared simply because I was working with Noah, but none of this seemed right. The next time we went to New York, Claire had asked to come along with us because she only wanted to visit her grandmother, Angela. Noah didn't think twice about letting her go, he said it would be safer for his Claire-Bear if we were around to keep an eye on her. I couldn't understand why I was the only one that seemed skeptical about Claire's reason to want to go to New York with us. Reluctantly, I kept my mouth shut.

The plane ride was awkward, to say the least. Pom Pom had taken the window seat even after I had clearly stated that I wanted to sit there. Noah was apathetic to the situation and sat between me and his daughter. I glared at the cheerleader at every opportunity I got during the plane ride and she regarded me with a disinterested look. When the captain had turned off the seatbelt sign, Claire had immediately got up and mumbled something about going to the bathroom. With the limited leg space we had with our economy class seats, Claire managed to maneuver past Noah and I. She didn't pass up the opportunity to step on _both_ of my feet as she passed by me.

"Elle, go check on Claire-Bear. She's been in the bathroom for ten minutes now," Noah spoke with that smoothly dull voice.

I rolled my eyes, but unbuckled my seatbelt and made my way to the middle of the plane where the bathrooms were. I pressed my ear against the door and Claire's voice could be heard clearly.

"We're on our way to New York now." She was quiet for a few moments and it was obvious she was talking on the phone. "Are you gonna be at your mother's when we get there?...What?...You have dinner with Nathan? Peter please be careful! You may be his little brother but don't think that's gonna stop him from doing anything stupid...I'll take care of that when we get there...I don't know what side my dad is on, but he doesn't know I know about people getting abducted. Peter, just promise me you'll be careful...Look I gotta go, I'm sure my dad is already suspicious about me taking so long in the bathroom...Yeah, I'll call you later after I talk to him."

I stood there wondering who it was that Pom Pom needed to talk to and what she needed to take care of. It was bad enough that she knew about Nathan's plan to round up all the people with abilites, but she was planning something, too. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't realize the cheerleader had stopped talking and I nearly fell over when the door I was leaning against was pulled open.

"Elle?" She asked and quickly put her phone in her back pocket. "What're you doing? There's another bathroom on this plane," Cheerleader said folding her arms across her chest in an irritated manner.

I regained my balance and shoved the younger girl back into the bathroom. I shut the door behind me and I instantly regretted my decision. I never realized just how tiny these bathrooms were and I found myself pressed against a flustered looking Claire.

"I think the better question is, what were _you_ doing talking on the phone with Peter? That apparently wasn't a friendly check up call," I said raising a brow and placing my hands on the wall behind her so she was pinned in place.

"How dare you eavesdrop on me! It's none of your concern what I was talking to my _uncle_ about!"

"Um...you're dad keeps me around to keep tabs on you, remember? So everything about you concerns me!" I hissed and had to fight the urge to shake the stupidity out of this cheerleader.

"I don't need a babysitter!" She practically shouted in my face.

"I'm not your babysitter, Pom Pom. I'm only trying to do my job by keeping you out of harms way! My number one priority is keeping you safe."

Claire was silent for a few moments and simply looked at me as if searching my eyes for something that indicated I wasn't being sincere. She sighed and bowed her head. "I wish I believed that," She whispered.

I cupped her chin and lifted her head so we were at eye level again. "Why don't you believe me, Claire?" I whispered and brought my forehead against hers.

"I don't trust you. You and dad know about these people getting abducted and I don't know who to trust anymore." Her voice sounded defeated and I found myself feeling the need to hug her. I cringed at the thought and stepped back as much as I could.

"You have to trust me and your dad. It's the only way to keep you safe. Can we just go back to our seats now? Noah is probably getting ready to open fire on this door if we don't come back in the next 35 seconds." Without waiting for a reply, I turned around to open the door and stepped out with Cheerleader on my heels. I ignored the looks of curiosity from some of the plane members and the suggestive looks being thrown our way from a couple of younger boys as we made our way back to our seats.

When we arrived to the Petrelli's, Noah and I had immediately locked ourselves away with Angela to discuss recent events. I still didn't like that lady since she fired me from The Company, but she wasn't trying to send me off, so I had to be civil with her. It seemed like we were in there for hours talking about her plans and Nathan's plans. I was seriously getting bored and I couldn't stop my thoughts from drifting off to the bathroom encounter with Claire. I hadn't been that close to her in weeks and I'm surprised she didn't seem to be repulsed by being in such close proximity. At the time, I couldn't ignore the nagging feeling that Claire was up to something at that exact moment. When we had entered the Petrelli's, Pom Pom said she was going to take a shower before heading off to bed. Noah seemed to buy it and I ignored her altogether. But what did catch my attention was when Angela had mentioned how Peter had been taken in, by none other than Nathan himself. I shouldn't have been surprised because Nathan was straight crazy in my eyes, but they're brothers for pete's sake. It's not like Noah was throwing Claire out into this madness.

"Some of Danko's men have been sent to capture Matt Parkman as we speak. If they act quick enough, I trust he should be easy enough to apprehend," Angela said and took a sip of what I assumed to be a glass of water.

Thinking that Claire was sound asleep, Noah and I decided we'd go to the airplane hanger where the captives were being held. When we arrived, an interesting sight caught our attention. Little Miss Cheerleader was being uncuffed by Danko as she was yelling furiously in Nathan Petrelli's face.

"How did she get here?" I asked and looked to Noah who was standing rigidly next to me. He looked as if he could've thrown up at any moment. "Noah are you going to do something before they take your daughter?"

Noah's next move left me dumbfounded. He simply got back into the car and sat there. I stared at him with my mouth wide open in disbelief. I returned to my seat on the passenger side and Noah seemed to be concentrating hard on the scene before us.

"_Hello!_ Noah-"

"We can't be seen. Claire can not know we're aiding Nathan. If she finds out I've been-"

"But we're both doing this for a very good reason! She would have to understand this is the only way to protect her...which apparently we just failed at though," I said and glanced in the direction where Claire was being led away by Nathan.

"Look," Noah said and pointed to the pair walking (well, Claire was practically being dragged) towards a car. "He's sending her back to Angela's. He doesn't see Claire as threat." I scoffed. And for a second I thought she was being freed because she was his daughter.

"But how is Danko allowing-"

"Danko is a clever man. He knows he needs Nathan for the time being and vice versa," Noah said and I was growing irritated with him interrupting me. "Claire's leaving. We need to get to the hanger."

And with that, we got out of the car and walked over to the spot where Nathan and Claire had been arguing.

"Care to explain what Claire was doing here?" Noah asked as he walked around inspecting all of the prisoners in orange.

They were all semi-conscious and I frowned slightly at the sight. I could've easily been sitting there with them in an orange suit with confines on that negated my powers. I forced myself to look at Nathan who seemed hesitant to answer Noah's question.

"Claire had been with Parkman when Danko's team had raided his apartment. Somehow Claire found out about this whole operation and went to warn him...how did Claire know about this anyway?" Nathan asked and stood in front of where Peter was slumped over.

"I have no clue, Nathan. But this better be the last time she is involved in any of this," Noah stated and placed a black cloth over all of the prisoners heads.

Nathan looked confused for a moment. "I hope you're not insinuating that I had something to do with that? She's _my_ daughter Noah. I don't want this for her," Nathan retorted, lowering his voice in case any of Danko's henchman were listening.

"I'm not insinuating anything. And she's just as much my daughter as she is yours...Look we're not getting anywhere by bickering. Elle and I need to get these people transported," Noah said and we made our way onto the plane.

Putting the recent events behind me for a moment, I felt a little giddy about flying this plane...well I'd be co-pilot, but still. I sat in the chair beside Noah's and eagerly placed the big headphones on my head and adjusted the mouthpiece. I flashed him a thumbs up with a grin and he sighed and shook his head at me. The plane was started and I forgot about my fear of flying as I could hear the plane warming up. Noah had instructed that I didn't touch anything and I frowned and sat back in my chair with my arms crossed over my chest.

Before I knew it we were taking off down the runway and in the sky a few minutes later. I think I preferred sitting up here rather than in the confined spaces where the passengers sat on flights. About 30 minutes passed before Noah allowed me to get up, and that was merely to check on the prisoners. I groaned and removed my headphones and unbuckled my seatbelt. I didn't understand why he felt like they needed to be checked on. They were barely conscious and had no chance of using their powers. Just as I stood up from my seat, the door that led to the back of the plane was yanked open. I stared in shock at the person holding a taser in their small hands.

"Elle?" Pom Pom asked confusedly as she slightly lowered the taser in her now trembling hands.

"Houston, we have a problem," I said, not bothering to turn to look at Noah.

"Dad?"

* * *

**A/N:** The whole prisoner and plane ride thing is from 3x14 (i think) if anyone was confused. So that's all I'm gonna say about that since I don't wanna give away what happens in Chapter 5 (which hasn't even been written yet at this point). Review to keep me motivated!

_Side Note:_ Have there been anymore updates on what's gonna be done about finishing Heroes? As much as I want it to continue, it atleast deserves some type of ending.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: **It's been quite some time since I've updated this fic. Not quite a year, but close enough. First year of college kept me very busy. Anyway, enough excuses. For those of you who wish to continue reading this fic, it hasn't been discontinued! So here's chapter 5. It's rather dry in my opinion, but I'm getting back into the swing of things with writing so hang in there. Enjoy...or not. It's whatever.

Disclaimer: Tim Kring owns Heroes, not I.

* * *

**Five**

"Elle?" Pom Pom asked confusedly as she slightly lowered the taser in her now trembling hands.

"Houston, we have a problem," I said, not bothering to turn to look at Noah.

"Dad?"

"Claire?"

To say that poor Claire-bear looked betrayed would be an understatement. She looked as though she couldn't even recognize the man before as the man that raised her. But before anything else could be said, the plane violently jerked. I grabbed the back of the seat to support myself and I managed to grab a very disgruntled looking cheerleader. The plane jerked again and my stomach dropped. That was definitely a feeling I didn't enjoy. Pom Pom snatched her arm out of my grasp and angrily stared between the both of us. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, the plane dropped slightly and I began to feel queasy.

"The turbulence is so not okay," I grumbled and sat back in my seat.

"That's not turbulence," Noah said looking past Claire. "What have you done?" Noah asked, now pointedly looking at his daughter.

I looked back and forth between Cheerleader and Bennett. It suddenly dawned on me what was going on in the back of the plane. Claire had freed the "prisoners."

"Oh hell," I groaned and grabbed at my safety belt.

Noah grabbed for the controls but it was too late. There was a deafening silence that clearly meant the engine had shut off. I looked at Noah who was frantically trying to control the plane. I then turned slightly to look at Pom Pom and I sneered. She looked rather panicked and I couldn't understand why. She would survive if we crashed. She might come out in pieces, but atleast they'd grow back. Noah and I, well we were probably as good as dead. "Way to go cheerleader," I sarcastically said and when I turned to await the impending doom, I noticed how close the ground was to the fast approaching nose of the plane.

* * *

Somebody was dragging me. That was about the only thing I was sure of at that moment. But my eyes couldn't focus on anything. Everything was dark and blurry. I could make out the sounds of gunshots, screams, and the sound of helicopters. And yet the voice of the person dragging me wasn't clear. It was familiar, but it sounded muffled and I was getting annoyed. I wanted to say something, but I was losing consciousness and I could barely keep my eyes open let alone try to speak. I'll admit I was a little afraid. I had no clue what was going on around me and I was pretty sure that wasn't Noah dragging me. What if it was Noah dragging me? What if he'd turned his back on me and was throwing me in with the others? Not like that would surprise me though. That man was truly unpredictable.

Before I could think more about possibly being imprisoned, I was being lied down gently. The surface wasn't hard but it wasn't necessarily a tempur-pedic either. Once I had been settled, a face appeared before mine. Blonde hair seemed to be glowing around this face and it almost seemed angelic. Did someone drug me with morphine?

"I can't believe you got yourself into this mess, Elle."

Claire.

The voice was clear as day and for some strange reason I felt safe. I wanted to reach for the younger girl and embrace her, but I was too weak. To my delight, I felt her hand gently cup my face.

"I have to do this, Elle. You and my father can't stop me from doing what's right." I felt a pair of soft lips on my forehead and I felt warmth spread through my limp body. Just as soon as the contact was there, it was gone and I was alone. Not being able to force my eyes to stay open any longer, I finally succumbed to a state of unconsciousness.

* * *

The pounding in my head was almost unbearable. There were lights everywhere and I realized I was still on the ground. I sat up slowly in order to not aggravate my head even more.

"Oh good. You are alive." Honestly, Noah Bennet's voice was the last voice I wanted to hear at the moment. "We've got fugitives to catch. Mainly Claire before she gets herself in any more trouble."

Managing to find some strength, I hoisted myself off the ground. I wobbled for a second before regaining my balance. Where _had_ Claire run off to? "Your bratty daughter just compromised the entire mission, Bennet," I said and fell into step beside him.

"Don't worry. It's all been taken care of," He replied smoothly.

Whenever Noah Bennet said something was 'taken care of,' he usually meant it, so I didn't worry.

"Aren't we supposed to be helping Danko's team round up the fugitives? I asked as I spotted Hiro fleeing for his life.

"I have to get Claire to safety first," Noah said, a determined look written across his middle-aged features.

The sound of guns being fired and bright lights was a little overwhelming and certainly wasn't helping my headache. And the more we walked, the more I became impatient. I was trained for events like these. I should've been firing blasts of electricity at all the helpless "fugitives" running around, not looking for a cheerleader. I pushed past some branches as we headed through a particularly wooded area and I silently cursed Noah. Although, I'd rather be the hunter and not the hunted at any given day so I did have to be grateful. Once we finally made it through the little woods, I could hear two voices coming in our direction. I recognized them immediately and as soon as we made our way onto the dirth path, I shot a current of electricity at Peter Petrelli. Noah grabbed his unsuspecting daughter by her arm and pointed his gun at Peter who was scrambling to his feet.

"Oh bonus! We got two!" I said excitedly and formed a ball of electricity in each palm.

"You both need to come with us," Noah said, struggling to keep a grip on Claire and his gun aimed at Peter.

"Let me go! This is insane!" Pom Pom yelled as she tried to yank her arm free.

"You're the insane one, Cheerleader. You caused the plane to crash!" I yelled and cringed at the thought. "I'm never flying again, Bennet."

"What happened you? How could you be a part of this?" Claire asked her father before directing her attention towards me. "Especially you," She said, eyes shining with what looked to be disappointment.

"It's much more complicated than you know," Noah retorted, briefly looking at Claire before looking back at Peter.

Peter began backing away and I zapped his knees with a snort of amusement.

"You gonna shoot me, Bennet?" In front of your daughter?" Peter asked, his tone clearly held no fear for the man pointing a gun at him.

In response, Noah cocked the gun. Peter seemed worried now and I watched with pure interest. I didn't think Bennet had it in him. But as I said, the man is completely unpredictable.

"Dad, what are you doing?" Claire breathlessly asked.

Noah stood there unmoving for a few moments and his entire body seemed tense. I saw his finger moving towards the trigger and the electricity in my hands dissipated as I waited for what I thought was to come. But surprisingly, the only thing Noah did was lower his gun.

"Run Peter," Claire demanded.

With an approving nod from Noah and a disbelieving look from me, Peter ran. We all watched him run off to safety and I shook my head, still in disbelief.

"You're never gonna get away this," Claire finally said looking at me and Noah. "The crash. People are gonna ask questions."

"You're wrong," Noah replied with a slight smile. "Nobody's gonna know a thing…"

Claire looked taken aback and I was still curious how this was gonna be covered up. "What did you do?"

At that moment, helicopters could be heard and before we had time to react, missiles were being fired at the plane that had crashed. Everything became clear as we watched the plane become unrecognizable as it turned to ash throughout the rest of the night. Cheerleader and Noah were having it out and I was very uninterested in their bickering. I still had a headache and I was pissed that Noah let Peter escape. I wasn't trying to get fired and tossed in a cell with the others. This was the only way I knew how to save my ass and I didn't need that compromised because Bennet went soft.

By the time the sun had risen, my headache was less bothersome, but I was getting exceptionally cranky. Danko's team had set up some more tents around the crash site, which meant we had to deal with him.

"Elle could you make sure she doesn't go anywhere? Nathan's already here," Noah said and before I could answer he left me standing there with his daughter.

I rolled my eyes and turned to look at the cheerleader who was making her way over to sit in a chair in front of one of the tents. She folded her arms and still looked as determined as ever. I had to admire her perseverance. Pulling out a pair of handcuffs from one of the many pockets of the swat-like get up I was in, I made my way behind the cheerleader's chair. I leaned down so my mouth was next to her ear. She jumped a little in surprise and I smirked. This did look a little inappropriate.

"You know Pom Pom," I whispered, "I really admire you."

She scoffed in response and moved her head away from me some.

"You digust me, Elle," She replied, "Turning on your own people; you're no better than Nathan."

I'll admit, the comment stung a little, but she still couldn't hide how angry she was that her plan backfired. Again. In response, my free hand traveled from her shoulder, to her bicep, and came to rest on her forearm.

"You think you're better than me, Claire-bear?" I reached for one of her small hands and brought it around the back of the chair. She seemed distracted. "We're not so different. Our fathers are completely messed up, we're outsiders, even among our own people, and we're both doing whatever we can to survive." By the time I had finished talking, I had both her hands behind the chair and swiftly handcuffed.

"What're you-"

"Your dad told me to make sure you didn't go anywhere. Can't take any chances now can we?" I said as I walked around the chair.

I sighed almost sadly at the sight. This would've been sort of sexy under other circumstances. But I shook my head at those thoughts. Pom Pom would probably never come near me again after all this.

With a wink, I turned and went to search for Noah.

I spotted Noah with Danko and Nathan several feet away and I could hear them arguing about the airstrike. I stood where I was for a few minutes wondering if I'd be out of place if I joined the conversation. Because I had a select few words for Danko after I heard him refer to us as terrorists.

"You mean targets?" I heard Nathan say. For a second, I thought maybe he wasn't as bad as Claire was making him out to be…They were headed in my direction, so I decided to fall into step with the three men as they walked on. "Shoot to kill? That's your tactical element solution-"

"These people of yours are dangerous," Danko cut in.

"These people are going into custody," I said, not even bothering to hide my irritation.

Danko looked at me with his creepy, old face and I cringed. He could be intimidating at times. His attention soon averted elsewhere and I was glad.

"She's right, Danko," Noah said, "We're not assassins."

We all stopped walking and Danko looked anything but pleased. "When you have a rabid dog, you don't put a chain around its neck and pray for miracles. You put it down." Danko's voice was fierce and I was sure I'd be put down if I was in an orange suit at that moment.

"When did the rules of engagement change?" Nathan's tone almost sounded amused.

"This isn't an exercise in tactics, Senator. Your daughter turned a simple transport flight into a national security emergency," Danko said.

"I'll deal with Claire," Nathan said, his tone full of warning.

"You do that," Danko retorted backing away from us. "And I'll do my job."

Noah sent me to fetch Pom Pom and I reluctantly obliged as Noah and Nathan walked off towards one of the tents. When I reached the cheerleader, she seemed as grouchy as ever. I pulled her up from the chair and kept a tight grip on her upper arm as we walked towards where her dads had gone.

"Don't touch me!" Claire said, trying to yank her arm free.

"I'm just following orders , Cheerleader," I hissed in reply, but released her arm.

"That's all you're good at, being a good lap dog," She mumbled.

I rolled my eyes and attempted to change the subject. I really didn't want to get into it with her here. "So how did you end up on the plane?"

"I was grabbed by your goon squad," Claire said with a humorless laugh. "Dad number two tried to send me home but I don't walk out on my friends. Or help people sick enough to do something like this. For a second, I thought you were better than all this."

I stopped in my tracks as she made her way into the tent. Did she really mean that? No! She was just messing with my head. I didn't have time to dwell on things that the teenager said.

"You have no idea how big this initiative is and what these people will do once you're on their radar," I heard Noah say as he sat Claire down. I chose to hang back from this conversation. What Pom Pom had said was really getting to me. Maybe she really wasn't playing mind games with me. Maybe she actually saw something in me that even I couldn't see…Or maybe I was thinking _way_ too much into everything.

The two Bennets continued arguing and I was getting bored.

"Elle has an ability and so do I," Claire said. "Does that mean we have to be controlled?"

With the mentioning of my name, I looked on with interest and Noah glanced at me briefly. I simply raised a brow. The cheerleader did make a good point. I couldn't handle being controlled. While I did work for Noah, I certainly under no circumstances would ever call myself being controlled. I still did what I wanted to do and got to use my ability freely, within reason of course.

When Nathan joined their conversation, he said something about rides being set. They were actually gonna try to send her back to Costa Verde again. Well, good luck to them.

"So I get a pass? And everyone I know just disappears?" Claire said, her tone far from happy.

"Except for me and Senator Skyboy, of course," I chimed in with an all too sweet tone. I'm sure I wasn't making the situation better, especially judging by the annoyed looks I received from the other three, but I couldn't help it. I still loved to piss Pom Pom off at any given moment. I shrugged off the stares and Noah and Nathan removed themselves to speak more privately.

"You can help me put a stop to this, Elle. Don't let my dad fool you. Once this is all over and you're done helping, he'll turn you in," She whispered.

I let the younger girl's words sink in and it all sounded reasonable. I'll admit, sometimes I didn't trust Noah, but he put a roof over my head when he easily could've turned me in. But maybe that was for his selfish reasons…

I met Pom Pom's eyes and her face appeared sincere. I found myself a little too drawn to her green eyes and I literally felt like I was being hypnotized by this girl. If I had looked into those almost pleading eyes any longer, I probably would've ended up freeing her, but a gust of wind whipped by me and I snapped out of it.

"Hi."

That damn bleached blonde Daphne girl had appeared beside Cheerleader's chair. Before any of us could react, Daphne had grabbed Claire and sped out of the room in the blink of an eye.

As of lately, it seemed I was really doing a terrible job at keeping Pom Pom out of trouble. I sighed and shook my head. Here we go again. What was that bright red-lipsticked girl doing here anyway?

"Elle, I want her found!" Nathan demanded as he made his way out the tent.

"Don't forget out arrangement; keep her out of this," Noah said and we both began to exit.

"_You_ keep her out of this!" Nathan said, sternly. "Daughter or not, she is running out of favors."

Wow. Well I completely take back what I said earlier about Nathan not being that bad.

"I wouldn't let anything happen to her," Noah said and walked out.

"What would you do if your hunter knew you were one of us, too?" I asked the clearly distraught looking Senator before following Noah out.

Noah and I searched the grounds for several minutes. It wasn't until after shots had been fired did we realize it was too late. Forgetting that Cheerleader had a healing ability, I rushed towards the sounds of the gunshots. As I got closer, I noticed how Danko's men were ruthlessly firing at the helpless "fugitives." Before I could get any closer, Bennet had caught up with me and pulled me back.

"What're you doing? They can't even defend themselves!" I exclaimed. A part of me was surprised at how much I seemed to care about the others. "What about your daughter?"

"She'll be fine, Elle. There's nothing they can do to harm her," Noah calmly said.

I turned to look back at the scene in front of us. I instantly regretted doing so. My eyes widened with horror as I watched Claire get gunned down as if she were some vicious animal. It was gruesome to watch and I still felt the urge to rush to her side. But just as quickly as she had collapsed, she got to her feet as if she hadn't been shot multiple times.

"Noah, this isn't right," I said and glanced at the oddly composed man beside me.

"I know," Was all he said before turning back towards the tents.

I confusedly watched him walk away. Noah Bennet was a mystery. When I turned back towards the scene of the massacre, I saw Danko dragging an aggravated Cheerleader in the direction of the tents. I followed after them immediately as I didn't trust Danko at all.

Noah spotted me and waved me over and reluctantly I made my way over after casting a brief look at Pom Pom.

"Here are the keys to that car," Noah said pointing at a black sedan. "You and Claire need to get on the first plane to California."

"But what about-"

"I can handle this. But I need you to keep an eye on Claire now, more than ever."

I sighed and nodded before grabbing the keys.

"I mean it, Elle. Keep an eye on her," Noah said warningly.

"You got it, Boss." My tone was sarcastic, but I was being serious by all means.

I settled myself into the driver seat and waited. Luckily, the car had a GPS, so I managed to find directions to the closest airport. By the time I finished messing with the GPS, Noah and Claire were making their way towards the car.

Noah opened the passenger door for her and she obediently got in. Once the door was closed, I started the car.

"I'll be home soon," Noah said and patted the top of the car.

I nodded at him before taking off down the dirt path to lead to the highway.

I glanced over at the younger girl and she was looking out her window. For the first time, the cheerleader looked defeated. The sight was rather heartbreaking and this was a very different Pom Pom than the one I had come to know.

"Your safety is my number one priority," I said and for once actually meant it.

The other girl didn't reply. She just continued looking out the window. I sighed with exasperation. It was going to be a long and awkwardly silent trip back to Costa Verde.

* * *

**A/N: **If you managed to get here, I applaud you. I promise there will be some Eclaire action in the next chapter. Just had to get some of the boring stuff out of the way. Reviews are always greatly appreciated.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note**: I figured I'd prove a few of you wrong who were gonna wait another year for an update. Took me a little bit longer than I wanted to get chapter 6 up (I still feel terribly rusty) but alas, here it is. So do your thing; read and review. Or just read...the choice is yours._ Warning_: There's some content that may be inappropriate for young eyes. Actually, it's really not that bad. I almost regret giving this a 'T' rating now -_-

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

* * *

I had only been back at the Bennet household for a week before I grew tired of Pom Pom's moping around. I know I wasn't the only one in the house that was sick of it either. Her mother constantly nagged her about discussing the colleges she'd toured while we were away.

It still surprises me how easily Noah could lie to his wife.

But besides Claire-Bear's mother asking about a non-existence college tour, Lyle was ever so eager to push his sister's buttons. Even with his constant pestering, she still did nothing. Noah hadn't returned yet, as I'm sure he was still handling the issues with the "fugitives."

I didn't even try to engage the cheerleader in any kind of conversation and she just seemed happy enough to ignore my existence. If I ever passed her in the hallway (on the rare occasions she would actually leave her room), she wouldn't even glance in my direction. I'm not sure why she was mad at me though. What had I done besides try to keep her out of this mess? I didn't lie to her like her father did.

I sighed and rolled over onto my side to face the door. It was relatively early; 5 in the morning to be exact and I hadn't really slept the entire week. My dreams were plagued by the memory of experiencing a plane crash and seeing defenseless people shot at. Sympathy was a rather new feeling to me. I had always liked it when my assignments were challenging, yet I loved it once they were at my mercy. It gave me a sick pleasure to be able to surge an unreasonable amount of electricity into their helpless body.

Those thoughts didn't really cross my mind anymore. I actually can empathize with others and it's slightly unnerving. The one main nightmare I keep having that's really been taking a toll on my mental health would be the memory of Pom Pom getting shot multiple times. However, in the dream, she doesn't get up because she's not healing. Once I reach her cold dead body and hold her lifeless form in my shaking arms, I wake up on the verge of tears. The first night I had that dream was the night we'd returned to Costa Verde. I had quietly snuck into the cheerleader's room just to make sure she really was alive. I kept telling myself the thought only bothered me because I'd be fired and shipped away if something were to happen to Claire, not because I genuinely cared.

I glanced at the clock which now read 5:30am. I wouldn't be able to get back to sleep after those dreams. Slowly, I got out of the bed and padded across the carpeted floor to the closet where my handful of clothes was kept. There was enough dim light peering in through the curtains from the sunrise to allow me to see in the dark space to locate my bathrobe. I leisurely removed my pajamas before slipping into the comfortable robe and making my way out of the room and down the hall towards the bathroom.

Just as I reached for the door handle, the door swung open to reveal a petite body...a petite, wet body that was barely concealed by a short towel. For a few moments, Pom Pom and I just stared at each other as my arm was still extended as if I was still going to open the door. Once I realized this, I brought my hand up to scratch my head awkwardly. We continued looking at one another and I was feeling more awkward by the second. It wasn't like the teen to stare at me and not have some snide comment about how mentally unstable I was.

"Elle." I was caught off guard by the hoarseness in her voice. It sounded unused.

I had never really seen Pom Pom cry so I was more than shocked to witness the tears steadily make their way down her soft cheeks. I was even more caught off guard when she collapsed into my arms, now sobbing.

Somehow my arms had managed to find their way around her body and I was cradling her sobbing form. Instinctively, with the cheerleader still in my arms, I walked us back down the hall towards my room. After managing to shut the door, I maneuvered towards the bed and sat us down. She nuzzled her face into my neck and continued crying. The only sentence I could actually understand was, "It's my fault Daphne is dead."

I stroked her hair and tried to soothe her in any way possible. Seeing her in this state was absolutely heart wrenching. "You can't blame yourself. There are some truly evil people in the world with no remorse for people with abilities. You know this, Claire. And there's nothing you could've done," I said and squeezed her body closer to mine, completely disregarding her tears that were freely running down my neck.

"I could've shielded her. It all happened so fast."

I leaned back a little from the embrace and cupped her cheek with my hand to tilt her face up some. Her teary eyes gazed at me with a broken expression and I don't know what came over me but I leaned in and softly placed my lips over hers. I let my eyes slip shut briefly and simply enjoyed the feeling of our lips touching for a few seconds. I pulled away, opening my eyes to look at her and her eyes fluttered open.

"Sorry," I mumbled and tried to scoot away from her, but she gripped me around the waist so I wouldn't move.

"Don't be," She said with a slight smile, "That was nice."

She pulled me to her and kissed me with such intensity, I felt goosebumps erupt all over my body. Gently, I pushed on her shoulders and she got the idea to lie down without breaking the kiss. I whispered against her lips for her to lie down on the pillows and she did. As she turned her body so she could put her head against the pillows, my eyes regarded her towel-clad body. I had momentarily forgotten beforehand and the realization made me nearly throw all inhibitions out the window. I wanted her. Badly. And I wanted her right then.

My body was hovering over hers in seconds and I nudged her knees apart with my thigh before settling on top of her so I straddled one of her thighs. I couldn't quite grasp it, but I felt this almost animalistic lust for this girl's body. Her hands wove into the back of my hair and she pulled me to her for a feverish kiss. I was falling into this sexual craze and I desperately wanted to touch her. I pulled away, breathing heavily and she looked at me with the unmistakable look of desire in her eyes. Our lips connected again and I moaned into the kiss.

"Please, Elle."

I groaned and my mind fought with my body on how to react. She began to roll her hips up to meet mine and I pulled away from the kiss with a gasp. We'd been in this situation before, only Pom Pom was on top of me…and half-asleep. I couldn't stop myself from rolling my hips into hers and pressing my thigh against her center. The contact was only slightly relieving the ache and the need to touch her began to skyrocket. She pulled my head down and brought her lips to my ear where she gingerly kissed around the shell of it.

"Elle," she whispered and I felt her legs spread even wider.

"Hmm?" Was the only thing I could manage to say as she grabbed one of my hands and led it down her body.

"I need you," She whispered while our hands came to rest at a very intimate place of her body. "I need you to touch me."

I nearly lost it and my body betrayed me when my hand moved on their own accord towards just where she needed to be touched.

"Claire, I can't…" I looked into her eyes, which were now slightly red from crying. This just seemed so wrong. She was upset about Daphne's death and undoubtedly upset about not being able to stop the entire operation. She couldn't possibly mean anything she was saying. She just needed some sort of relief from her problems.

"You can. I want you to. I've been wanting this for so long, Elle," She said, the look in her eyes appearing genuine.

When I began to lift myself off of her body, her eyes widened and she looked almost frantic. To her surprise, I tugged at her towel. With a grateful smile, she eagerly lifted her body some so I could completely remove the offending material. Once the towel was tossed to the floor, my robe soon joined it.

If Noah knew that I was naked in bed with his daughter doing not so platonic things, I would surely be meeting my demise. I wouldn't even have to worry about being shipped away because he would kill me on the spot. How could I possibly deny this beautiful woman lying beneath me begging for my touch though? I couldn't help but let my eyes travel over the naked, well-toned yet soft body of Claire Bennet. It was an incredible sight and I felt like gloating to the all the boys she went to school with that would die to be in my position right now. I wanted to tell her, tell her how beautiful she looked. But I felt this wasn't the time for comments like that. Besides, I'm Elle Bishop, for crying out loud!

My eyes met hers and she was nervously biting her lip. I realized I was thinking too much and I offered her one of my trademark Elle smiles before capturing that bottom lip she'd been chewing on between my teeth. Her arms wrapped around my back and she pulled me closer. Without any more hesitation, my hand made its way back down her body to her center. Her hips lifted impatiently and I smirked. Her mother and Lyle being in the house be damned; I was going to enjoy making Pom Pom scream. My fingers moved to the sensitive bundle of nerves and she tightened her grip on me.

I couldn't help but think I would regret this.

* * *

Waking up and finding the other side of the bed abandoned shouldn't really have shocked me. But I couldn't shake the feeling of emptiness. It's not like Pom Pom and I had cuddled afterwards, it just felt good falling asleep beside her.

The clock on the bedside table read 11:00am and I figured it was time for me to at least get out of bed. I sat up and leisurely stretched my arms over my head. I felt so rested and I didn't want to admit it was because of what the Cheerleader and I had done a few hours ago. After locating my robe, which had been tossed across the room, I made my way to the bathroom to take a shower. I couldn't stop the thoughts of what had happened between Claire and I from invading my mind as the warm water pelted onto my back.

Dressed and ready for whatever I'd have to do that day, I checked my cell phone. I had a missed call from Noah. I'm surprised he didn't happen to call while his daughter's hands were doing wonders on my body.

I listened to the voicemail and wrote down the details of the assignment. I still had a few hours to kill so I was in no rush to get started. I made my way downstairs and once I got to the kitchen, I noticed a note on counter.

_Elle,_

_Taking Mr. Muggles for a walk. There's 10 dollars in the little orange shoe for you to get lunch._

_Sandra_

I felt strange all of a sudden. Just that one note tugged at my heart strings some and my eyes began to water. I didn't have a mother growing up and in my time staying at the Bennet's, Sandra felt more like a mother figure than any other woman in my life. It was amazing what that woman put up with and I was no exception. She defended me over her own daughter at times and I felt special, like I belonged.

"Get it together, Elle," I told myself as I furiously wiped at my eyes.

I spotted the little orange shoe she was talking about and noticed there was quite a lot of cash in there. Knowing I shouldn't push my luck, I just took the 10 dollars before settling down in the living room on the couch. After digging through the cushions for the remote I turned it on and tried to find something of amusement.

After about four hours of Lifetime movies (who knew those movies could be so addictive), I decided I would head out for a Slush-O. It'd been awhile since I had one. Plus I could get some chips to temporarily appease my growling stomach. I didn't like to be on assignments on a full stomach.

Slush-O in hand, I pushed open the door of Sam's Comics. I looked around and scoffed. In his voicemail, Noah had warned me to be on my guard. If someone with abilities works in a comic book store, I doubt they're that dangerous. This would be cake.

After not finding this dude, I checked around back and saw who I'm guessing was his boss.

"Is Alex in today?" I asked sweetly.

The man nodded and I smiled before returning back into the store. I walked around and before I knew it I had ran into this tall figure with glasses.

"Alex Woolsly?"

"Yes?"

This assignment would've been so much easier if Noah would've let me electrocute him till he loses consciousness and then bag him. But I was going to be obedient that day and do things Noah's way since he claims his ways are more efficient. After taking once last sip from my Slush-O, I tossed it in a nearby trash bin and pulled out this professional looking miniature notebook and a pen.

"It seems you have a lot of outstanding parking tickets." I glanced around me to make sure nobody was looking. "Would you mind if we talked outside?"

He seemed hesitant and I was growing impatient. I could feel the electricity making its way through my body and it seemed so apt to be unleashed. Just as I was about to give in to it, a shelf of comic books fell on top of me and knocked me to the ground.

"Oh what in the hell?" I groaned as I angrily shoved the shelf off of me.

The boy had made a run for it and I was practically seething with anger. After dusting myself off, I took off out the front in hopes of finding him. He was nowhere in sight.

"Shit," I said as I pulled out my cellphone and pressed 1 for speed dial to Noah's number. "Yeah…there's a problem."

I explained to Noah what happened and he didn't sound too happy. He said there was nothing he could do since he wouldn't be back to Costa Verde for another day or so. He told me I was responsible and I needed to clean this mess up before things got worse. I just nodded and 'uh huh-ed' with annoyance before telling him I'd take care of it and hanging up on him while he was still speaking in that eerily calm voice.

I'd spent a couple of hours driving around the area and I even stopped by his apartment. I didn't see his car and really all I could do was either drive around some more and hope I happen to catch him or go back to the Bennet's house. I'm not much of a quitter, so I decided to hunt him down. My cell phone began to ring and lo and behold it was Noah. I hesitated before pressing accept.

"We've got his car tagged behind Flora's Flower shop on 1st street. You need to get there now."

"On the way." I replied before hanging up and shifting into drive.

By the time I got there, a few of Danko's men were already there searching the now empty car. I sighed with frustration and didn't even bother calling Noah back. I'm sure he already knew. Deciding to give up for the day, I drove back to the Bennet's. On my way there I spotted Claire's car, conveniently parked not too far from the comic book store. Just as I pulled in the parking lot, Claire was making her way out of the coffee shop with an all too innocent look on her face. I parked beside her car and quickly got out before she could get in her car.

"What are you up to, Cheerleader?" I asked and casually leaned against my car with my arms folded.

Her hand still on the door handle of the car, she turned slightly to look at me with an annoyed look.

"None of your business, Elle," She spat back and proceeded to open the car door.

"You don't seem to get it," I said shaking my head with a smile.

"No, you don't seem to get it. I don't need a babysitter."

"I'm not your babysitter, Claire." I pushed off of the car and approached her. "Now, I'm going to ask you again; what are you up to?"

"If you must know, I was applying for a job at the coffee shop," She said and while she kept a straight face, I knew she was lying through her teeth. She and Noah lied the exact same way. Their faces were far too calm whenever they weren't telling the truth.

"Like I believe that." She rolled her eyes and got into the driver's seat and before she could pull the door closed, I grabbed it. "Whatever you're really up to, stop. You don't want to end up in another mess like before do you?"

"You're a coward, Elle. You don't even deserve to have an ability. The only person you care about is yourself so stop pretending you give a shit about me and my safety. I'm gonna put a stop to this somehow and then you're gonna be locked up."

Her words echoed in my mind as I watched her drive off. Claire Bennet was intimidating at times and it really irked me to notice the similarities between her and Noah.

* * *

Two days had passed and Noah hadn't returned yet. I'd spent hours and hours looking for that Alex kid and I was beginning to lose hope. I figured that kid was halfway to Mexico by now. I stopped answering Noah's phone calls. He had to have known that I'd failed and I'm sure I would be getting an earful once he got back.

The one thing that did catch my interest was Claire's behavior. She was being exceptionally odd and I knew she had to be up to something. It was a Saturday and Claire usually went out back to tan but she wasn't in the usual lounge chair that day. Her car was still in the garage so that meant she was either on foot or with the friends she seldom hung out with. Since keeping tabs on her whereabouts was mainly my job, I decided to stop by her room. As I grew closer, I heard her voice. At first I figured she could've been talking on the phone to someone until I heard the unmistakable voice of a male.

I'm not sure if the sudden anger was brought on by jealously of the thought of there being a guy in her room or by the thought of her safety being compromised.

Once I reached her door, I knocked twice before twisting the door knob. The door was locked.

"Can I come in?" I asked as nicely as possible.

"Uh just a second!" She called back.

There was a lot of movement going on on the other side of the door and I was almost giddy with excitement that I might just be busting Claire.

After about a minute, the locked clicked and the door opened to reveal a barely dressed Cheerleader. My eyes roamed her sports bra clad upper body to the much too short soffe shorts on her lower half. I had done a pretty good job with keeping the sexual thoughts about Claire in the back of my mind, even though that was the best sex I'd ever had. But at that moment, all those thoughts came rushing forward and I felt an almost animalistic desire to rip what little clothes she had on, off and take her on the floor.

She cleared her throat which snapped me out of the sexual haze I was caught in and I met her eyes.

"What do you want?" She asked, her voice exuding irritation along with her body language.

I feigned a grin before making my way past her into her room. I looked around for evidence of another person or anything out of the ordinary. With a frustrated sigh, I sat down on the edge of her bed.

"I heard voices," I said and folded my arms across my chest.

She chuckled, clearly amused.

"Now, why don't I find that surprising? Oh wait. Probably because you're crazy," She said with a serious face.

I rolled my eyes. How original.

"So what's new, Pom Pom?"

She looked at me as if I'd grown an extra head. "_Please _don't try to act all buddy-buddy with me now just because I'm under even closer watch now."

I raised a brow. "Buddy-buddy?" She folded her arms over her chest and I had to force my eyes to stay glued to her face. "You and I are a lot closer than most buddies, don't you think?"

Cheerleader's face tinged the slightest shade of red and I smirked. I stood and walked over to her to further her discomfort.

"I don't know what you mean," She lamely replied and she glanced sideways for a split second.

"But you do." I placed my hand on one side of her face and she began to blush even more. "I know you remember the other morning just as clearly as I do."

She glanced sideways again and I looked towards where she was looking. Something about her closet was making her even more on edge than I was. "That was-" she cleared her throat and stepped back. "That was a mistake."

That word 'mistake' slightly stung more than I'd like to admit. "So you'd take it back? You'd take back all those feelings of pleasu-"

The sound of something falling in the closet grabbed my attention. I looked at the closet and then back at Pom Pom and then back at the closet.

"I didn't hear anything…"

"I didn't ask if you did," I said before making my way over to the closet door. I turned to look at her suspiciously before turning my attention back to the closet. With one hand on the door handle and the other accumulating a ball of electricity, I opened the door.

"So this is where you've been hiding," I said and stepped back to let Alex Woolsly out of the closet.

"Don't you dare touch him," Cheerleader said and stood in front of him in a protective stance.

I frowned and shook my head. "You really should stay out of this, Claire. What you're doing is so far out of line. You could get caught again for this."

"What _you're_ doing is _wrong_, Elle. You have an ability, too. You have no right to turn your back on everyone with an ability!"

"You're not Harriet Tubman, Claire! You expect to shut this down by yourself? You're not that invincible!"

"Then help me, Elle! Do the right thing for at least once in your life!" She shouted and looked almost helpless.

I was at a loss for words for a few moments as Claire pleadingly looked at me. She had a point. When did I ever do the right thing? But I could lose my job and ultimately lose my freedom. I was in this for me and nobody else. I was going to step on whoever was in the way to ensure my safety.

But the way Claire's eyes were shining with unshed tears really made me rethink everything I'd been doing. She was right. It was wrong of me to do this to other people with abilities when I had one as well. I was no better than Nathan. And there was just something about Claire that made me feel like a different, almost better person at times. It scared me.

"There's a van outside," I said quietly and looked to the window.

She looked confused and both she and Alex glanced at the window.

"Take a look for yourself," I said motioning to the window.

Hesitantly, Pom Pom made her way over to the window and carefully pulled down the blinds to peer outside.

"Those pool cleaners have been sitting out there for 4 hours now. Nobodies pool is that dirty," I said.

"So they're some of your men?" Claire asked, returning to her spot in front of Alex, who just stood there silently.

"Danko's men," I corrected. "If we're gonna sneak four-eyes here out of the house, then we're gonna have to do something with his appearance."

Claire smiled and looked hopeful for a second before her expression turned to a more suspicious one. "So you're gonna help?"

I nodded. "I might lose my job but you better be glad I like you a whole lot." The words sort of slipped out of my mouth and I was more than embarrassed by what I'd just said.

Her cheeks turned red again and Alex just looked uncomfortable.

"Er…get him cleaned up. He smells like moldy socks and eggs." I began to leave the room and a hand on my upper arm made me turn around.

"Where are you going?" Claire asked. It was reasonable that she didn't trust me completely.

"To get Lyle's driver's license. Alex Woolsly needs a new identity." I said with a sly smile before leaving the room.

After letting myself into Lyle's room, I did a quick search for where his license could be. I'd over heard him talking to one of his friends about how he lost it and with the condition of his room, it was quite understandable.

It probably took me all of 30 minutes to locate his ID which was under a pile of exceptionally dirty clothes. After escaping the horror of a mess of a room, I made my way back to Pom Pom's room.

"Maybe if things were different, we could've gone out or something. I'd be hiding in your bedroom for different reasons."

I had no right to be jealous. Pom Pom and I were not together by any means. She'd made herself clear when she said the other morning was a mistake so my feelings of jealousy were irrational.

"Even if things were different, I'm not really into the whole relationship thing right now."

Yeah she was more into the whole 'sex with no strings attached' thing right now obviuosly. I decided I was tired of eavesdropping and just as I pushed open the door, I saw the two sitting all too close on the edge of the bed together.

"It'd be easier if you had a useful ability like shape shifting or something along those lines. What kind of ability is being a fish?" I said, not even having to fake annoyance.

"I think his ability to breathe underwater is pretty cool," Claire said and placed her hand over his knee.

I felt a crackle of electricity on the tip of my index finger at the sight but I pushed the sudden anger aside.

"Whatever. Alright kid, I need your ID so I can make this as legit as possible," I said and held out my hand impatiently.

He nodded and retrieved his wallet from Cheerleader's bedside table to pull out his license.

"Why does it not surprise me that you know how to make fake IDs?" Pom Pom asked as we made our way downstairs to Noah's work room for proper supplies.

"I had a lot of free time on my hands when I was with Sylar," I replied with a shrug. I cringed at the memory and continued looking for scissors and laminating paper.

Making the ID was rather quick and for the first time in a while, I felt useful. After it was finished, I admired my work for a few seconds with content. Cheerleader looked at me with a sort of hopefulness and that Alex kid just looked annoyingly dumb.

I handed it to him and he thanked me as he put it in his wallet.

"We don't have much time. Those people in the van are probably gonna make an appearance here at any moment so we need to get him hidden," I said and motioned for them to follow me out of the kitchen.

"Not the closet again," Alex groaned.

I slightly turned my head to look at him with amusement. "You'd hide in a dryer if you had to in order to not get caught, so don't complain," I retorted as we made our way back into Noah's study.

I removed a bin that was on a bottom shelf to reveal a vent. I removed the cover to the vent and looked at Alex with an expectant look.

"In there?" He said, already looking uncomfortable.

"Trust me, you'll be safe in there."

He looked to Claire for some sort of objection and she only nodded her head in agreement with me. I smiled triumphantly and he groaned before slithering his way into the small space. Once he was in, I recovered the vent and told him to keep quiet. I replaced the bin that was in front of the vent and motioned for Cheerleader to leave the room.

Before I closed the door, I told Pom Pom to keep her cool because Danko's team would probably let themselves in the house without permission.

Probably about a few minutes after she left the room, I heard more voices. I settled myself into Noah's chair and turned the computer on. I could hear Pom Pom telling them they had no right to be there but they said they were intent on finding Alex in the house. I kicked at the computer impatiently as it slowly booted up. Just as the login screen showed up, one of Danko's men entered the study. I inwardly cursed at the monitor. I didn't know Noah's login information! And I would surely look suspicious sitting at a computer just staring at a login page.

But the man didn't even pay me any mind. He just searched around the room and thankfully missed the vent where Alex was hiding quietly.

"Can I help you with something, sir?" I asked all too sweetly.

He looked at me as if he'd just noticed my presence and I continued smiling as genuinely as possible.

He ignored my question and exited the room.

"I know he's in here somewhere," One of the team members said.

"Well that would be wrong, wouldn't it?" Pom Pom's voice was unwavering and I could imagine the firm look on her face. "Now if you don't mind, I'd like for you two to get the hell out of my house."

Sometimes Claire was just a little bit too brash with authority figures. I shook my head and turned the computer off as soon as I heard the henchmen leave. I let Alex out and he looked more than relieved to be out of the cramped space.

"That was close," Alex said.

"Luckily, some of Danko's men aren't the brightest," I said with a shake of my head.

"Now what?" Claire asked. "There's no way that's it. They're gonna keep patrolling this house. And the train to Albuquerque leaves soon."

"I could always just slip out back and make a run for it," Alex suggested.

Pom Pom looked at him disbelievingly. "They'll catch you."

"Maybe not," I said. "We're gonna give him a head start. You're gonna have to work with me on this. Here's the plan; it's very short and simple…"

* * *

I gave Alex a slight nod and he did the same in return. I grabbed Pom Pom's arm and I looked at her almost pleadingly.

"Don't get yourself caught, Claire. I'm putting my ass on the line for you."

A small smile appeared on her lips and she did something that took me by surprise. She kissed me gently on the lips before disappearing outside with Alex.

I shook my head out of the giddy daze I was in and made my way out the front door. I got in my car and I sped out of the driveway. Just as I suspected, this caught the attention of the people in the van and they chased me down. Once they had pulled their van in front of my car to keep me from going anywhere, I had to feign a look of urgency as they got out the van and approached my car. I rolled the window down and was met with two guns in my face.

"I just got word that Alex Woolsly is on the move!" I exclaimed almost breathlessly. When they just continued staring at me, I tried my best to appear to be confused. "Your just gonna stand there and point your guns at _me_? Go get him! He's heading north!"

They immediately took off on foot and I sighed with relief once they were gone. I drove down the block to where I was supposed to meet them and thankfully they had just made it. When they spotted my car they ran and quickly hopped in. The train station wasn't that far away, but on foot it probably would've been a good 30 minute walk and in that time I'm sure Alex could've been caught. So driving him was the safest option.

"Thank you so much for your help," Alex said as I pulled up to the train station.

I shrugged. "Just doing what I can. Now get going and remember to keep a low profile."

"Good luck!" Claire said and pulled the boy to her for a hug.

I rolled my eyes and looked away from the two.

"Good luck to you, too. Keep fighting the good fight." Was this guy serious? Just get out already! "Oh and Claire," I looked in my rearview mirror and almost gagged at what I saw. He kissed the Cheerleader swiftly on the cheek before getting out the car. "Thank you for everything."

With the door shut, I sped off back to the Bennet's residence. I needed a nap after all this. My brain was trying to process a lot of what had already gone on that day and it wasn't even 5pm yet.

"Thank you, Elle."

I scoffed and briefly glanced at her in the rearview mirror. "For what?"

"For what you did. You didn't have to help him. And I know you risked a lot by doing so."

I shrugged. "I'm not all bad, you know."

She smiled a genuine smile and my heart melted. "I think I'm starting to see that."

* * *

A/N: Um...? Review? Or not...it's whatever. But I'm curious to see people's opinions on how the story is moving along..Please excuse any spelling or grammatical errors. I am a stickler about that kinda stuff and I did proof read this but it is also almost 4 in the morning..


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